The Chiasm
by 26Chapters
Summary: Chi-Chi and Whis develop a tight-knit relationship quite quickly, to the jealousy of numerous people.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1, **Awakening.**

* * *

When Lord Beerus requests that Whis travels to Earth to summon Goku back with him, Whis doesn't imagine that it will take him longer than the hour that he has planned it to take; twenty-seven minutes of road time to Earth, and around six or seven minutes for niceties and small talk while Goku gets himself ready to go back with him, and then twenty-seven minutes back to Lord Beerus.

But, oh, it does; it takes longer than the hour he thought it would take.

He doesn't think that there would be a possibility of being told by Goku's wife that Goku just left a second ago, when he shows up at their doorstep. He is a god's right-hand man as it is, so no, the idea of his timing being anything under impeccable, is unfathomable to him.

But, ah, he misses Goku just by a second.

He doesn't factor that maybe, just maybe, Goku's wife would be in the middle of preparing a meal that smells decadently heaven-like, and when she opens the door a little wider for him, he would automatically be drawn inside the house through his feet, by his nose.

But, ah again, he finds himself inside the Son house.

He doesn't leave room open for the assumption that Goku's wife, would smile in a pleasant knowing way, as a way of inviting him to feel welcome when he turns to her, to curiously ask, 'Oh my! What _is_ that delightful smell?' He was never properly acquainted with the woman, unlike with Bulma, and so, he doesn't think that she would be courteous to invite him in, more than he _is_ comfortable enough to call her by her name other than the title of Goku's wife.

But, oh, his dear Lord Beerus, she does.

He doesn't dare to imagine that Goku's wife would politely gesture to the dining table, silently telling him to go over to it, and shortly thereafter place a well arranged plate of food in front of him, softly advising him to start eating when his eyes unabashedly pop out at the appetising content.

But, oh, again, she does and no, _he_ does _not_ , for the sake of his taste buds, turn down the offer.

He doesn't weigh the probability that Goku's wife's food would taste three universes better than all the food in the places that Bulma takes him to, and thus, make him believe _their_ food to have the best taste. He's a novice in Earthling food, he easily takes what he receives, and so he never had a reason to believe that there could be food that tastes better than the best.

But, oh, divine ruler of Universe 7, her food tastes nothing like he's ever had; not _quite_.

He does, however, begrudgingly take a few seconds to tear his mind's concentration away from the divine taste of the food, to think that _this_ –he lifts his head to briefly look at Goku's wife- _must_ be the reason that Goku loves to eat so much.

Needless to say, even after all that, Whis doesn't consider that Goku's wife would offer him a second helping, then a third, and a fourth, and then two desserts, all in extreme portions, so that when Lord Beerus telepathically calls on him, he would ignore the call to savour the very last bit of the dessert.

But, oh, thank some deity, because she does and when she does, he _does_ shamelessly put off answering the call of his Lord.

And so, it begins.

* * *

Chapter 2, **A Beautiful Exchange.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2, **A Beautiful Exchange.**

* * *

Whis simply _can't_ contain his curiosity anymore. Before, when he was swallowing down his dessert, it had been effortless to push his curiosity aside as though it wasn't there, so that he could freely enjoy his food without breaking concentration, but now that there's nothing left for him to eat, his curiosity refuses to remain shackled in. His curiosity simply has to be attended to, and so, he gently places his spoon on the table next to the now empty bowl to give way to it.

'I must know,' he silkily starts, 'how _did_ you prepare these dishes?'

With Bulma, he only ever went to fancy eating places, and thus, gained sizable knowledge on gourmet dishes and exquisite meals. It's how he knows that the food that he just had the pleasure of eating, is nowhere near being gourmet. If anything, he would say that the food he just ate, is plain and ordinary, but, cosmically, he would give his life to wholeheartedly attest to its superiority to gourmet taste at any given time. This fact doesn't make clear sense to him, as he is under the understanding that professional chefs make the best food.

Without wavering in either demeanour or voice, Goku's wife answers, 'Pots and pans.'

Her answer doesn't offend him, much less make him believe her to be slow, rather, it leaves him a little touched. Her disregard to choose her words carefully, makes him feel normal for a change. On all the planets that he's visited and the people there discover who he truly is, they always tread lightly around him, but not this woman. This woman is treating him like an acquaintance, at least as per his silent observation, which warms him, to be honest. It warms him so much, that he closes his eyes for just a fraction to faintly smile at her.

'You misunderstand me,' he softly corrects as his eyes open to look at her again, 'I'm talking about the taste of the food. There's something different in your food, that I haven't had the pleasure of tasting before today.'

It's as though she puts a little more of something that all the other chefs don't dare to, because there's just that slight, yet very noticeable difference in her food, for the better of the taste. He couldn't even wiggle from side to side as he ate, for the fear that he might interrupt the taste of the savoury food melting in his mouth and then proceeding to smoothly slide down his throat.

Goku's wife only looks at him at first, her face giving nothing away, and then, at the exact second that he thinks to elaborate, she takes the seat across his before drawing her eyebrows together to clearly indicate her displeasure.

'Are you comparing my food to the food that Bulma serves you?' she asks, her voice laced with annoyance.

Apparently, without meaning to, he managed to send her the wrong meaning again. Where she thinks that he's narrowly sitting on the border of insulting her food, he really only means to compliment her as she duly deserves. No matter now, however, all that's left, is to rectify his miscommunication, especially if he wants to be kept in her good books.

'No,' he redirects, keeping his eyes on hers so that she can see that he's telling the truth, 'I'm not comparing. I'm rather looking for a difference, my dear. Your food can't be defined by a mere word, and I'm curious to know _why_ that is.'

He watches her relax her facial features, and he just knows that she now understands what he means. This is a relief for him, because truthfully, he would've disliked it if she didn't grasp what he meant, and then threw him out of her house. That surely would've meant that he would never again have had the pleasure of having her food in his mouth.

'Well,' she starts with a soft voice, placing her elbow on the table to rest her cheek on her closed hand, 'to be honest, there is a huge difference between a professional cooking for money and upholding their reputation, and a simple housewife cooking for the people that she loves.'

Whis' eyes enlarge in curious wonder as he asks an intrigued, 'Oh?'

He'd love, love to hear more about it! He'd love to hear about this said huge difference between people of the same species and race that affects the taste of the food that they produce. He'd love to hear all about it indeed, but just then, he loses the chance, as Lord Beerus starts to call for him again.

'Oh, _Whis_!' his master drags his name to highlight his emphasis on it. 'I know you can hear me, so I'll tell you now, that if you aren't back within two minutes, I will start destroying all the planets I can.'

He should've known that ignoring his master would lead to this, Whis fondly thinks with a minimal frown. The frown isn't to digress on the fact that his master is resorting to blackmail to get him back, neither is it to show dislike of the fact that Beerus is cut through his time, instead, it's to fractionally lament over his unquenched curiosity.

'May I remind you that it takes twenty-seven minutes to get back, Lord Beerus,' he casually replies, 'And besides, I'm still waiting for Goku to show up.'

Really, Lord Beerus has the patience as short as a snail. If deities were elected on the basis of patience, he wouldn't have been on the list to become one.

' _Forget_ Goku!' Lord Beerus' voice gruffly barks –Whis can almost see the wagging tongue and sharp teeth expression that he makes when he loses his patience like that- 'I want to take a bath, so you had _better_ get back here soon.'

Sighing and simultaneously closing his eyes to savour the effect, Whis smoothly answers, 'Yes, _my Lord_ , I will be there soon.'

It's true, he's lingered for far longer than he was supposed to. It isn't fair that he keeps Lord Beerus waiting more than he has to. It's time that he went back home, he supposes with another sigh. This last sigh, however, being one oddly saddened by the prospect of leaving already makes him wonder...

'And don't think I don't know that you've been stuffing your face with food all this time,' Beerus adds in a warning tone. 'I know you, Whis. I know there's no other reason than food for you to ignore my call.'

'Guilty,' Whis laughs in slight embarrassment, immediately getting on his feet and silently summoning his staff to appear from thin air.

There's precious little that he can hide from his Lord, not that he ever wants to keep anything important from him, though...

'In that case,' the destruction god tones down his wayward temper, 'I will not accept for you to come back empty-handed.'

'I wouldn't dream of it,' Whis replies and a small grunt follows from the god, before the communication line between them dies.

At that, he looks over at Goku's wife, who is now also on her feet to ask, 'Do you perhaps have any more food for me to take back to Lord Beerus?'

'I have food left,' she answers, 'but I'm afraid that I have two Saiyan stomachs to feed. I know Goku will be starving when he gets back. And Goten too. I'm sorry.'

Although a shame that she can't spare food for Lord Beerus, Whis doesn't think it's appropriate for her to be apologetic for putting her family first in place of gambling with an unlikely chance to get into good graces with Beerus. He does appreciate that she's sorry for not giving him what he wants, though. However, he only files that away without mentioning it to her, as he supposes that it won't do her any good to hear.

'A pity,' is what he chooses to say to her. 'I just know Lord Beerus would've loved to have what you made.'

Exactly like before, she doesn't answer him at first, but only considers him. Her eyes go from one side of his face to the other, and then right into his eyes, before her mouth finally opens.

'What's it like being the servant of a god?' comes from her mouth. 'I only heard one end of the conversation, but...'

A curiosity formed inside her, he mentally completes what she verbally doesn't. Hearing only his end of the conversation must've caught her attention enough to make her reach a conclusion that she needs either confirmed or denied.

'Hmm,' he ponders for the best way to satisfy her curiosity in the same way that her food satisfied his taste buds. 'No one has ever asked me that,' he absently realises out loud.

He looks off out of focus, to think well and hard about it and then only gives his answer to her.

'Well, how can I say this?' How can he explain his relationship with Lord Beerus to her indeed, in a way that she will understand? It's not as cut and dried as it appears, and so he doesn't really have the right way to begin explaining it. Plus, he's never had to explain his relationship with Lord Beerus before, but okay, he'll try. 'It's that even _being_ stronger than him, and having to deal with his insatiable tendencies...' he trails off for a second.

It's in that same second that Goku's wife completes his sentence without hesitation. 'There's nothing else in the world you would rather be doing?'

Precisely, Whis thinks, snapping his eyes out of focus to evenly set on her.

It's more her confident, yet relating tone than it is what she said, that makes him feel the need to look at her. When their eyes meet, he feels an incredible tug on his heart. The tug is _so_ profound, that he places his hand over his heart to feel it over his majestic robe. He's never felt so keenly connected to someone, the way that he feels connected to Goku's wife at the moment.

In her complete, barely-uttered understanding of what it's like to have Lord Beerus as his master, a tight thread invisible begins all the way from her to him, to especially connect them. For _that_ reason, Whis smiles at her, not only to answer her, but also to tell her that he's gathered that she's in the _same_ situation. He can't imagine that she's physically stronger than Goku, but surely, she must be some type of _strong_ to be able to tame Goku. From what he's seen, Goku is only normal, because something keeps him grounded, because otherwise, he would be a lose and wild ball of energy. Now, Whis can understand that she's the leash around Goku; his tamer.

Softly chuckling, he ponders; who would've guessed that being Lord Beerus' servant could be equalled to being Goku's wife? The universe is a place filled with treasure-like mysteries indeed!

Apparently taking his chuckle to be a positive response, Goku's wife warmly smiles back at him, appreciatively saying, 'I like you, Whis.'

Oh my, he draws in a secret breath.

That was brazenly forward. He didn't expect that she would say _that_ to him, _in spite of_ the evident bond that has just magically sprouted between them, to join them as lone comrades with similar differences, in similar wars. Nonetheless, he is not perturbed by it. As a matter of fact, he rather feels _more_ connected to her now, because there isn't any hint of hope for beneficial gain in her confession. She didn't sound like a woman with her own agenda when she said that. which is how he knows that she isn't telling him that, to butter him up, but she is simply telling him the truth from a deep feeling of having a kindred in him.

'I like _you_ ,' he heartily returns with a delighted smile, 'Goku's wife.'

'Chi-Chi,' she corrects him. 'You can call me, Chi-Chi.'

And so he will, he decides on the spot as he nods. She will be the one and only being in all his life, that he will forever remember as the one whose sincerity and shared experience unlocked a desire for friendship within him. Sure, Lord Beerus and the Oracle fish had been enough for him until just a minute ago, but not anymore -oddly so. Earth seems to have a lot of surprises to yet reveal to him.

'In that case, Chi-Chi,' he carefully poses, tingling with an excited warmth, 'may I propose something?'

For an answer, she nods for him to continue.

'I love the taste of Earth food, and you just happen to have the power of the taste of food in your hands. Doesn't that in itself clearly outline that we should assemble as often as we can from now on?'

Heaven knows that since he doesn't sleep, he gets bored, so it would do him good to visit her now and then, he reasons. She _is_ after all, the only person that understands his position, which could mean that _perhaps_ they could trade management strategies...

'I would like that,' she agrees. 'With Goku gone half of the time, and Goten off with Trunks, I'm often bored here at home.'

'Well then,' he excitedly announces, 'it's settled, I will come by more. Thank you for the exquisite food... _Chi-Chi_ ,' he carefully says her name at the end, because he likes that he can say her name freely. In a way, there's an unexplained sense of familiarity in calling her by her name.

'I'll tell Goku that you stopped by.'

Speaking of Goku, he suddenly remembers, he still needs to get something for Lord Beerus to eat. He can't believe that he forgot so soon. It's not like him to forget to secure something edible for his Lord. A little ashamed of himself for forgetting, he clears his throat as though to rid himself of the shame.

'May I bother you for just a little?' he asks, bringing his index finger and thumb closer together. 'I need to take something back to my Lord, what do you suggest?'

Where he expected that she would eagerly give him a list of dishes to get and jump at the opportunity like Bulma would've done, she instead flashes him a smile that is almost daring him to ask her that again, but not in a dangerous way. _This Chi-Chi_... he thinks as he looks at her, she's not at all what anyone would immediately conclude her to be, upon seeing her.

'Do you cook?' she asks, her daring smile still present on her face.

'Who, me?' he exclaims in surprise before adding, 'Oh dear, no!'

The idea of him cooking, is laughable! Well, he's tried to cook on several occasions, but Lord Beerus was never patient enough to wait for him to actually _start_ the cooking. He has yet to use a pot to make food.

'Well, you're going to cook today,' she tells him, leaving him with no option of refusing. 'I have ingredients and recipes for you to take back.'

He can hardly picture Lord Beerus patiently sitting as he waits for his meal to be done, but, ah, the prospect excites him to the point of shudders spreading all through his body.

'That should be interesting,' he considers.

'If Beerus is as bad at waiting like Goku is, it should be _more_ than interesting,' she heartily promises. 'Wait here, I'll be right back.'

What does she mean that it should _more than interesting_? Is it an experience that brings immense pleasure, he wonders, that she would say it in a way that makes him believe that it's a very fulfilling process? While he wonders all this, he follows her with his eyes as she goes through some cupboards and just about then, the door bursts open.

Not bothered one bit, Whis doesn't turn to the door to see who just entered, but then he doesn't even need to, because the person at the door announces his arrival anyway.

'I'm back, Chi-Chi,' Goku lets them know.

So he might be able to take Goku back with him, after all, Whis reasons to himself. He hears a small gasp and then suddenly, Goku's standing in front of him, his eyes full of innocent wonder.

'Oh, hi, Whis!' Goku smiles at him, 'What are you doing here?'

Whis only smiles as an answer.

* * *

Chapter 3, **Beautiful Crime.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3, **Beautiful Crime.**

* * *

Chi-Chi knows her husband, she knows her husband _very_ well. She knows what his vantage points are, and she knows how to interpret the things that he does, as well as the words that come from his mouth. She knows all there is to know about him, but best of all, she knows the parts about him, that other people can _only_ dream to hope to understand about him.

Huh, she supposes that's why _she's_ Goku's wife, and not somebody else's wife.

She knows her husband more than she knows her way around the kitchen. She knows what sets him off and what extinguishes his internal flame, but more than that, she's an expert in detecting, following and interpreting his energy readings when he's near her. Unlike everyone else, she _doesn't_ need to have her eyes open and squarely set on Goku to know his state, or his thoughts.

That's why, even now that her back is turned on the pair in her kitchen, she knows that Goku's partly dancing around Whis, feeling three fractions higher than his average curiosity. While she _is_ preoccupied with carefully preparing a bag for Whis, her senses are keenly aware of Goku standing close to Whis, just waiting for an answer.

'Leave Whis alone, Goku,' she calmly tells him, not taking her eyes off her work.

Of course, there's no way in the world that Goku will listen to her. She could've yelled it or she could've tried to coerce him into listening to her, but the way she knows him, it's a sure thing that he wouldn't have listened to her; he is Goku after all.

'But Chi-Chi,' he protests, 'I want to know what Whis is doing here.'

Just like she thought, she thinks. For sure, it'll only be one of two things that will happen now. Either one, he'll ignore her and start to beg Whis to take him along to Beerus' planet, whether he gets an answer or not, or two, he'll pester Whis with different versions of the same question until he gets an answer that satisfies him. Personally, her money's on the second option.

'I _was_ here for you,' Whis dulcetly answers him, saving her the trouble of saying something else to calm him down.

Had Whis not answered, she would've had to repeat herself, only with more vigour the second time around. Really, the amount of patience and willpower it takes to be married to Goku, is something that no other woman –not even Bulma- would've been able to master.

'For _me_?' Goku asks, his energy tones spiking in the same surprise as the tone of his voice. 'Wait,' he adds more thoughtfully, 'did Lord Beerus send you to me?'

Still with her back to them and still busy with gathering the last of Whis' ingredients into the bag, she's perfectly able to detect the tinge of excitement radiating from Goku's body. That's her Goku, she thinks with a small appreciative smile, he is who is, and she wouldn't change any part of him.

But, as it's usual (and highly exciting) for her to do, she has to act annoyed and threatening, because it rises both of their energy activities. They long ago mutually agreed to this type of action and reaction cycle, that they can't stop it now if they wanted to. At this point in their marriage, they're sort of dependant on arousing such high hormones in each other, that it goes without saying that she purposely reacts as though she's annoyed. Goku loves it, and she loves him, so what he loves, she happily supports.

'Goku…' she warns, leaving his name to trail off into seemingly infinite silence for a better effect.

In the time that it takes her to fully conclude Whis' package, there's absolute silence in the kitchen. To this day, it still makes her skin sizzle that she has an unusual power of dominance over Goku. Not enough people can proudly admit that they have that kind of power over him. But what surprises her, is Whis' silence.

Whis hardly strikes her as the type to fall and bow down, and yet here he is, as silent as Goku, not making any single comment during the silence. She expected him to say something to Goku, but he calmly allowed her the freedom to dictate the order of things in her house. If she can, she might even say that he's properly giving her the authority that duly belongs to her in her own house, regardless of him being stronger and more important than them.

Whis is a man with his priorities in order, she decides on the spot as she turns around to start walking to the two men, and that's why she seems to have taken an unexplained liking to him suddenly.

'Here you go, Whis,' she hands him the bag when she reaches them. 'Be sure to follow my instructions precisely.'

Stretching out his arms to receive his package, Whis accepts it with a slight nod and a pleased smile. If she were to guess what his smile is about, she would say that he's imagining the recipe that she told him about.

'Thank you, Chi-Chi,' Whis says, keeping his eyes on hers. 'I can only hope that Lord Beerus allows me the time to prepare it.'

The way he says it, she observes, she detects that whether Lord Beerus accepts it or not, he'll prepare the recipe anyway. Heaven knows, if the roles were reversed and she had to make a meal for an impatiently hungry and nagging Goku, she'd do it anyway. See, this is probably why she likes Whis, he's similar to her…

But then, without warning, Goku squeezes himself between her and Whis, coming almost nose to nose with her and disrupting her thoughts.

' _Hey_ ,' Goku drags in wonder, 'what are you giving him?'

'Aren't you going to eat?' she asks him, not giving importance to his curiosity.

'I want to know what Whis is here for,' he insists, sounding very serious this time.

'Why,' she takes a step back from him, 'so you can ask me to go with him?'

'Well,' Whis saves her again when he turns to Goku, 'as I said, I _was_ here for you, and while it would be prudent to leave with you, I rather prefer that you remain behind. That way, I have a reason to return here. Until then…'

Whis winks at her, and they share a smile at the silent promise, but then Goku looks from one to the other, seemingly observing their smiles to each other. From what she can tell, he looks to be considering their smiles, in the end, he looks at her with narrowed eyes.

'What?' she wants to know, and Whis chooses that very moment to tap his staff on the floor, making him instantly disappear.

As sudden as Whis' departure is, she's more concerned about Goku's unusual stare. It's not like him to look at her like _that_ , like he's thinking more than he has to be, to figure a puzzle out.

'What was Whis doing here?' comes out of his mouth.

'He just told you, didn't he?' she answers his question with a question.

One would think that he hadn't been listening when Whis spoke. Really, Goku sometimes…

As though she didn't speak, Goku maintains his stance, still asking, 'But what was he doing here?'

'Goku,' she frowns, 'he said what he wanted.'

'But _while_ he was waiting for me,' he corrects, making his energy activity flutter in a strange way, 'what was he doing?'

Something is not right, she thinks to herself. Not only is Goku's energy dancing around in a new way that she's not familiar with, and on top of that, she can't read what it means. Nonetheless, there's an urgency in his energy spikes that she can't ignore; she has to answer him.

'He was eating,' she tells him.

It's like her words abruptly shot a ball out of a canon, that unceremoniously hit Goku, because he emits a long, 'Waaaaaaaaaah!' as he jumps back as though in fright of something.

' _Eating_?' he screams out, his eyes shooting out with more than just surprise. ' _Here_?'

Really! What's this? What's wrong with Goku that he's behaving like he was just told the most incredible thing in the world. Is there really a need for him to go to such extremes all because Whis ate here?

'Yes, here,' she answers, keeping careful watch of him.

'But he usually eats with Bulma!' Goku sputters. 'Why did he eat with you?'

Another person with Bulma!

'Because Bulma doesn't cook and I do,' she replies in a snap.

There are things she can tolerate, but being compared or likened to Bulma in subtle or explicit ways, is not something that she appreciates when it concerns food. Bulma can afford the best food yes, but she is nowhere near close to knowing what loving to cook does to the food.

'But I prefer that Whis eats with Bulma, not you,' he says as though defeated, his face falling with his words too.

He's not serious! What's this, he doesn't want Whis to eat with her? He's really telling her that he prefers that Whis doesn't eat with her, when it's his fault that she likes to feed people?

He's the one that came into her life, and then married her, consequently bringing her into a life of seeing him eat the way he does. And then, as if that wasn't enough, he gave her two sons with almost exactly the same appetite as him, further adding onto the household's eating habits. He's the one that got her to develop an insatiable passion for preparing food and soon addicted to seeing people eat, so he shouldn't be surprised that she wants to feed every and any person that will have her food! Whis just happens to love food, so where is she at fault if she wants to feed him to satisfy his wants?

She seriously wonders what his problem is. But, if this is honestly the way that he wants to play it, she'll turn the tables on him.

'And I prefer that you don't run off all the time,' she says, 'but we can't get what we want now, can we? Now, are you coming to eat or not?'

Transparently sulking, he answers a quiet, 'I'm eating.'

Now that's what she likes to hear, she thinks, forgetting all about his previous strange behaviour. She lives to see her beloved husband eating to his heart's content.

* * *

Chapter 4, **Better Than Me.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4, **Better Than Me.**

* * *

'Hmm! This food is great, Chi-Chi,' Goku tactfully comments before hastily shoving a spoonful of food in this mouth.

His eyes are specifically set on his wife's turned back, and he's deliberately complimenting her, to test for her reaction. The small subtleties that are only visible in the first five seconds before a response are what he wants to see from his wife. He needs to see if she'll react differently in those small seconds, right before she gives him a reply. He's more than curious to see if she'll timely face him with a soft smile on her face, to silently tell him that she's happy that he loves the food.

He doesn't know why, but something about Whis and his wife having been alone together isn't fully accepted in his head. His stubborn head can see it, but accepting it is another matter completely separate from the first, so much so that he feels like he needs to test her actions and reactions to somehow feel reassured enough to let the Whis topic go.

'Hmm,' Chi-Chi absently hums her reply, continuing to go about clearing the counter with a cloth without so much as a muscle flinching to turn his way.

To Goku, it's exactly like she just slapped him in the face, dazing him to the point where he momentarily loses control of his body, and the spoon in his hand falls onto the table without his permission. Similarly, his mouth hangs open while his eyes shoot out at her turned back. He swears on his entire life, that he's never felt more snubbed in his life, and by his wife, no less.

'Chi-Chi...' he cries in an unbelieving whisper so hoarse, that anyone would think that he's coming down with a cough.

It's not that she usually has grand replies to his food praises, and it's definitely not that he pays specific attention to her when he comments about her food, but somehow it just feels like she refused to do something vital for him. He doesn't know what it is really, but in the back of his mind, Whis' presence and Chi-Chi's lack of attention his way, are closely connected, and it's too unwelcome within him.

'More food?' she asks when he doesn't continue after crying her name, her back still turned on him.

No, he doesn't want more food, he thinks sourly, only to realise that he does want more food. Where Chi-Chi's food is concerned, he'll always want more food.

Almost as quickly as he thinks that, his mind reminds him that Whis had been here in this house, probably sitting in this very chair -Goku can't resist the pull to study all around his chair to find lingering traces of Whis- and probably thinking the same thoughts as him about Chi-Chi's food...

Automatically, his facial muscles together to form a concentrated frown. There's definitely something about the thought of Whis having been in here with Chi-Chi that bothers him to this extreme that is out of his skin, he just doesn't know what it is yet. Where did Whis suddenly come from, that he wants to sit and eat with Chi-Chi instead of Bulma?

Bulma, he remembers, jumping out of his seat onto his feet.

'Chi-Chi,' he says, already preparing two fingers on his forehead, 'I'm going to see Bulma.'

If there's one person that should have to answer for Whis having been here, it's Bulma.

But, a split second away from disappearing from the kitchen, Chi-Chi stops him by gently calling his name.

'Goku?'

Partly startled, yet glad to be receiving soft attention like that, he hurriedly answers, 'Huh?'

Maybe she'll do something that reassures his dancing nerves; he deeply hopes that's the case.

'You're worried for nothing,' gently comes from her mouth in what sounds like a promise.

'Worried?' nervously leaves his mouth over a short laugh. 'Worried about what? Who says I'm worried?'

He wouldn't go so far as to say that he's worried, but he wouldn't tread on the thought that his wife isn't right either. The slight conflict is something of a delicate balance between the two things, that no one else would be able to understand, because it's unique to only the two of them, it's just their private thing.

On the one hand, he can't fool her, he knows that; she knows him far too well to be deceived by the things that come from his mouth, while on the other hand, he can't admit that he's worried either, because he feels more unsettled. Those two aren't technically the same thing, right?

'I know you, Goku,' is her reply to him, making it sound like another promise more than a statement.

Well, he thinks with an impressed smirk, he can't argue with that, so he bids her a deliberate provokingly soft, 'See you,' before disappearing for Bulma's.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

So, the thing is this, he clearly knows how to share, he really does. He considers himself to be a pretty generous guy, he really does, but he can't reconcile with the idea of Whis and Chi-Chi spending time together.

It's not that he distrusts Chi-Chi, or even Whis, it's rather more that he's never been confronted by the thought of someone outside the family spending time with his wife in his absence.

Before they even knew of Beerus' existence, the only other person that came to see his wife was the Ox King, and he's never had a problem with the Ox King visiting Chi-Chi. Even Piccolo spent time around Chi-Chi, and Goku never had a problem with that reality. But with Whis... There's just something about Whis that makes him a little restless to know that he had spent time eating in the company of his wife…

Naturally, in this unsettled state of mind, he miscalculates and transmits to a sleeping Vegeta instead of Bulma like he intended to do.

'Oh, it's just you, Vegeta,' he cries out his disappointment, which consequently arouses his race counterpart. 'I wanted Bulma!'

Rising to perfect attention in an instant, Vegeta doesn't fail to show his annoyance at having his sleep disturbed. Goku can't say that he expected any less from him.

'Kakarrot!' Vegeta growls out in frustration, 'What do you think you're doing here? What do you want with Bulma?'

'Vegeta,' Goku starts to complain like he's the one who has the right to feel offended in this particular situation, 'you're such a sourpuss when you wake up! I want to ask Bulma about Whis. He was at my house eating with Chi-Chi, and I want to know why. See you, Vegeta.'

He would usually stay to pick on Vegeta, just to rile him up on purpose, however, right now, he has a one track mind and everything else is taking to lazily lounging on the backseat in his mind.

He then places two fingers on his forehead to go to Bulma, too distracted to think anything other than getting to his lifelong friend, failing to notice that Vegeta holds onto him, making it so that he transmits along.

This time around with his transmittion, he thankfully finds Bulma, concentrated on working on something in the laboratory. Although he sees that she's busy, he disregards it. He didn't come here to worry about whether she's busy or not.

'Hey, Bulma,' he says in a lifted tone enough to reach her where she is, 'why was Whis with Chi-Chi today? Isn't it _you_ who always takes Whis out to eat?'

For her first reply, Bulma lets out a big sigh for being interrupted. She usually does that when she barely manages to prevent her inner fuse from short-circuiting.

'Goku...' her eyes slowly lift to him, her voice sounding _just_ short of annoyed, 'Can't you even say hallo first? Hit him for me, Vegeta!'

'Vegeta?' he jumps back in surprise as he looks to his side to find Vegeta standing there.

How did he not notice Vegeta appear next to him? Well, it doesn't matter anyway, because Vegeta looks ready to throttle him, even without Bulma's command. Knowing that Vegeta would use any excuse to pick a fight with him, Goku and fortunately jumps back to avoid being hit as per Bulma's instruction.

'Sorry, Bulma,' he says to her, only to mould her to being sympathetic towards hearing him out. 'Hi, how are you?'

Under normal circumstances, he would ask her how she is and mean it, but this isn't a normal circumstance, he's here because an abnormality happened in his house and he wants to get to the bottom of why Bulma let it happen.

'Fine,' she stoically replies, clearly not accepting of his bland greeting. 'So what is it?'

'I found Whis at my house,' he gets right to it, without dancing around it first. 'He ate there, and then Chi-Chi gave him something to take with him.'

He didn't mention that package to Chi-Chi, but it also doesn't sit well with him. Although, he has to address it too, he's more interested in finding out why Bulma didn't take care of Whis enough, that he felt the need to sit and wait for him in the presence of his wife. Nothing should be able to justify Bulma from failing to do what she normally does.

'Whis and Chi-Chi?!' Bulma exclaims, instantly dropping the tool in her hand and showing him a horrified expression to contend his own scowl.

'You see?!' he excitedly points to her expression to emphasise the abnormality of the occurrence.

Strangely, he feels relievingly better to know that someone else feels the same discomfort as him. It's like hearing and seeing Bulma express the same feeling as him, poured another cool bucket of water into the already filled container of cool water within him. He won't deny that it gives him a good sense of validation, but the problem is, now that he has validation, he doesn't know what to do with it… That's awfully strange.

'Kakarrot's wife eating with Whis?' Vegeta gruffly voices his surprise too. 'What reason would there be for Whis to engage with _her_?'

Even though Vegeta finds the whole thing strange too, and it means more validation for him, Goku can't help it feel a fraction rowdy towards Vegeta. He sneered the question as if to say that Chi-Chi is beneath Whis.

Okay, he'll admit that while the topic of his wife and his teacher is not an accepted one to him, it's more unacceptable for Vegeta to speak like _that_ about Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi isn't beneath anyone, least of all Whis, but, that's a whole different thing to consider. For now, he mostly just feels a slow heat creeping all throughout his body to the very tips of his hair, aroused by what Vegeta said.

'Vegeta…' he starts in low tone, feeling a heavy frown on his own face, but Bulma cuts him off before he can say more.

'Isn't it obvious, Vegeta?' Bulma shouts as though riled up. 'She's doing this to get Goku an advantage with Beerus over you!'

'No way!' Goku heatedly defends, his previous frown turning into a deep scowl. 'Chi-Chi isn't shallow! She wouldn't use anyone to benefit herself like you do Bulma!'

As soon as Bulma's name leaves his mouth, he feels sharp contact on his forehead before realising that Bulma bent down to pick up her fallen tool and then apparently perfectly threw it at him. It hurt too, he realizes in an afterthought.

'Go-kuuu!' she fumes, appearing in front of him to add a stinging slap on his cheek.

He couldn't have expected less than a slap from her, he thinks as he staggers back from the impact of the slap, it is her signature move after all. Her slap stung like it always does, but it's whatever she hit his forehead with that does more damage.

'Bulma,' he complains, rubbing his forehead to soothe it, 'don't hit me on the head, it already hurts!'

All the unsettled thoughts in his head, have left his head throbbing just a bit too much. And then as if that wasn't enough, Bulma hits him with some kind of metal on his forehead too.

'You called me shallow!' she irritably gives him the reason for hitting him.

'You called Chi-Chi an opportunist!' he whines back, in turn giving his reason for calling her out.

His wife is one of the purest people that he knows. No, actually now that he thinks about it, his entire family is the only group of people that he knows, that easily give themselves in the place of others. Chi-Chi especially, isn't malicious to take advantage of anyone for any reason; she's good at fighting for her family through her own honest methods and dedication. No one can ever say that she has a hidden agenda for doing whatever thing she does, because there isn't a bone of selfishness within her.

Frowning as she folds her arms across her chest, Bulma tones down her voice, but still demands, 'Then why did you come running to me to complain about her and Whis if she's _so perfect_?'

Bulma's clearly offended by what he said, he takes the time to observe. He remembers that yes, Bulma doesn't like to be called out on her not-so appealing qualities, because it doesn't paint her flatteringly, which is why he suddenly feels bad for offending her. He really didn't mean to offend her.

Although he knows that for the most part Bulma is self-centred, he doesn't ever hold it against her or use it against her, that's why he's surprised that he said something like that, especially since he didn't mean to offend he with it.

Wow, he thinks, it's like he's not himself. He's never really had these kinds of thoughts before. Chi-Chi has always been the uncrossable line for him; in any fight, during whatever low he faced, Chi-Chi was always the first person to appear in his mind and then he just knew that he couldn't just lose. Maybe the same thing happened here with Bulma.

'Never mind,' he waves Bulma away, changing his mind all of a sudden. 'I'm going to see someone else.'

He wanted Bulma to explain how in the world she neglected to know that Whis was on Earth, so that she could whisk him away to fancy eating places, but now, he doesn't think that she's in the right state to get answers from her. He also doesn't want to risk offending her again, because that's not what he wants to do.

'Bye,' he raises his hand in a small farewell, adding, 'Oh, and sorry for calling you shallow.'

* * *

Chapter 5, **Contender.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5, **Contender.**

* * *

A small, barely detectable prick punctures through the mellow air on the small planet, causing the owner of the planet, the Destruction god's eyes to slowly open from his pretend meditative pose on his favourite tree stump.

A second, he calmly tells himself as he adjusts his eyes to the surrounding, he'll give it a second.

In the second that Lord Beerus chooses to spare for courtesy's sake, the puncture in the air evenly disappears, making it seem like it had never been there to begin with, and an overwhelming energy takes its place. Where the air puncture had been a minimal disruption of balance between dimensions, the energy that has now replaced it, is something that is the total opposite of disruption.

Ever so slightly, he lifts the left corner of his lips up to form a miniscule smirk, before completely wiping it off his face as he gets onto his feet. He can't let Whis know that he's glad to have him back.

'It's about time you got here…' he dangerously starts, and then looks over his shoulder to finish with, ' _Whis_!'

He thought he could do it, he really thought that he could let a second go by and not be the first of the two of them to speak, instead allowing Whis to first apologise for taking his time. However, within a nano second of Whis' presence, his stomach anticipated the wondrous delicacies that Whis must have brought with him, and he just couldn't keep himself quiet. That, and his patience just snapped apart. He's been waiting for _far too_ long to contain himself.

'Honestly, Lord Beerus,' Whis soft voice coolly replies while he as he passes by him in a glide. 'I told you that I would take some time to arrive.'

Effortlessly, Lord Beerus jumps off his favourite stump to fall two levitation spaces behind his servant.

'Fine Whis,' he accepts in a drawl, 'I'll forgive you this one time, only because I know you brought delicious food.'

Oh, he can already picture it! The dinner table laid with some of Earth's food… The magic combinations that Earth's people had for him this time…

But, breaking through his cherished mental anticipation and quite unlike he expected, Whis lets out a small chuckle in the soft way that he usually does. Lord Beerus knows that chuckle; it's that same one that usually means that he'll have to wait and see what Whis is going to do.

He doesn't like it! He doesn't like that chuckle! It always makes him feel like the servant instead of the god in their relationship. Narrowing his eyes just the slightest, concentrating them on Whis' back, Lord Beerus can't help it wonder about his servant.

Whis, to put it accurately, is the very opposite of impatience, he remembers. Whis has a way of soothing things, a way of giving _him_ –the god that he is- orders without straying from his position of servant. Whis is by a nature a humbly positive being, and for the most part, he doesn't mind that his servant is a calm being, but there are times like now that he just… well, gets suspicious. And when he gets suspicious, his level of impatience stretches beyond its limits.

'You know,' he quickly moves to catch up with Whis, 'I don't like it when you do that. What are you hiding?'

There had been a time, a time that stretched on for millions of years, when he prided himself on being intolerant of only one _particular_ thing. Without fault, he used to announce to whomever he could, that he could not, for the life of him, tolerate the disrespect of any being who could not afford him the due respect of a Destroyer god. He used to boast with that mantra, repeating it over and over, time and time again, in a menacing yet disappointed tone, right before humiliating or even destroying the being that dared to disrespect him in that way.

But since meeting Goku –and later Goku's entourage of people- without noticing it, he gradually lost the ability to boast in that same mantra as he used to do for aeons. Instead, one day, not too long ago, he woke up to find that more than he loathed disrespect, his impatience was heightened to the point of fragile sensitivity.

Concerning Goku and anything that surrounds him, Lord Beerus can't keep either his impatience, or his suspicion at bay, because with Goku, anything is possible at any given second of the day. Especially where Whis is concerned. And he doesn't like it that way.

For an answer, Whis only huffs out a little noise of offense, as though to say that he's not pleased with the lack of faith in him. That usually never works, Lord Beerus hotly thinks, so it won't work now either.

'Out with it, Whis,' he insists, lithely moving to block his servant from going further. 'I want to know! It's bad enough that you made me wait for so long. I've already started to lose my patience, so you better start talking. You know I hate surprises!'

Again, Whis only huffs out another sound from his mouth as he closes his eyes and shakes his head. This last sound, Lord Beerus interprets to mean that Whis is starting to lose patience with _him_.

Tsft! The nerve of him, the god thinks, quite unimpressed, but still moving to the side so that Whis can have his space to move forwards again. The truth is, when Whis is impatient with _him_ , he somehow always finds himself waking in his bed with a throbbing head pain, and so when Whis begins to display signs of impatience, he finds it rather helpful to step back a little.

'I'm not hiding anything,' Whis tells him, his voice completely even while he picks up his gliding. 'I was simply thinking that you wouldn't like to hear that the food I brought, has to be cooked first.'

Cooked? Did Whis really just say the food has to be cooked first?

Because he's unwilling to believe that he heard correctly, he looks at his servant with a waiting expression. It can't be right that he heard Whis say that he's going to cook, because Whis _specifically_ knows that he doesn't have the patience to sit around and wait for a meal to be ready. Their agreement from the beginning, has been that Whis would acquire food while he napped or entertained himself in some way, not _cook_ it while he waited.

'Is that your attempt at humour?' he asks Whis, following beside him. 'Because I'd rather endure Champa than hear that joke again.'

Really, he doesn't know why Whis even tries his hand at jokes, he's never been good at them. And besides, no Destruction god is inclined to like jokes; by virtue of being gods of Destruction, they are petty in essence, and as it is, there's no telling which joke could set them off to destruct something.

All of a sudden, Whis halts his gliding and puts a deep frown on his face, casting a side-glance his way.

'Joke?' his servant asks. 'I'm afraid I'm quite serious, Lord Beerus. Chi-Chi gave me a recipe to make for you and I intend to do just that.'

The way Whis answered, he carefully thinks, it's as though someone commented negatively on something that he excels in, and he feels the strong need to defend himself. Lord Beerus has only ever seen Whis answer in that same way concerning a snide comment on either his travelling speed, or his ability to avoid attacks before they are even made. It's suspicious that he feels a need for a defense.

'Chi-Chi?' he wonders, scratching the top of his head to help him remember the being. 'Who is that?'

Clearly, this Chi-Chi person is part of the reason for the defense, otherwise Whis wouldn't have mentioned her. If only he could remember that person, so that he could draw a conclusion from his suspicions. First, he was suspicious of Whis' positive aura, and now he's suspicious of the sudden change from positivity to defensive... it must connect with this Chi-Chi...

'Goku's wife,' comes from Whis' mouth.

Goku's wife? Goku has a wife?

Oh, right, he begins to remember, _that_ woman. So her name's Chi-Chi, he ponders. He hardly views her as anything significant. He doesn't even think that he remembers how she looks like, were they to meet her somewhere in the galaxy.

'And she gave you a recipe, you say?' his curiosity takes over him. 'What does _she_ know about food? You should've asked Vegeta's wife for a recipe instead. This Chi-Chi seems like an ordinary commoner to me.'

He's never had an interest to know her. Apart from that one time that she saved him by buying some time for him to think of a plan about Monaka while Goku was away, he's never considered her anything important. Goku himself doesn't mention her, so why would Whis feel the need for a defense concerning _her_.

Apparently offended in some way that Lord Beerus can't understand, Whis huffs and promptly gives him his back. He doesn't understand Whis' attitude, so he follows behind him to begin telling him that he has no intention of waiting for a meal that might just be mediocre compared to the sensational dishes that Vegeta's wife lays out for them, but just then, Whis' staff starts glowing and Vegeta's wife's face appears right in the centre of it.

'Oh Whis,' she starts in a strangely nice tone. 'I have _something_ for you. It's a rare delicacy here on Earth and we, me and Vegeta, of course, got it for you. Isn't that right, Vegeta?' she casts her eyes to the man beside her, almost as if to tell him to get into place.

How... suspicious, Lord Beerus briefly thinks.

He can't count the number of times that Vegeta's wife has slapped him and called him an idiot to his face, in that loud screaming tone of hers. Her callous attitude towards him, only exceeded by Goku's, has made the title 'Destroyer god' mean nothing but a mere name in the universe, and so it's hard for him to believe that she can sound this nice all of a sudden.

However, she _did_ mention that she has a rare delicacy and for now, that takes more priority than wondering about her reason for being nice. With that in mind, he rushes to hog Whis' staff to himself. He barely hears Whis let out an annoyed, 'Good grief,' because he only cares to give his attention to the said delicacy.

'Delicacy you say?' he hungrily asks, making his tongue run over his thin lips.

'Uh-huh,' the woman says and then turns to command, ' _Show him, Vegeta!_ '

More than he sees Vegeta spring into view bearing a large platter that he can already taste in his mouth, he largely sees the mountain of food that's help up by his hand. Oh, the large portion of food! It looks _so_ appetizing, _so_ inviting, _so_ ready to be delicately chewed on, _so_ provoking to be savoured and then swallowed. Oh, the large portion of food! Hmm, he can't wait to have _all_ of it!

'Hmm,' Whis remarks, peering his eye into his glowing staff.

The way he hums the word, however, Lord Beerus notices again, is not like that of someone who is entranced by wonderful food like his own silent 'Hmm' was. It's more of a person making a careful observation to draw an accurate conclusion sound. Again, Lord Beerus ignores this, because there's a mountain of food that's just waiting to be brought over.

'Whis, take me there,' he orders, keeping his eyes fixed on the food platter, not daring to take his eyes off it.

Whis pulls away from the staff, and moves it out of his master's view. 'Thank you, Bulma,' he says, 'but I'm afraid we'll have to decline this time.'

Whis announces his decline with such finality that when both Vegeta and his wife scream an appalled 'What?!' Lord Beerus exclaims the exact same thing.

'What?!' he spins around to face his servant for a better view.

They'll have to decline? Who are they? Because he certainly isn't going to decline food!

Seemingly unfazed, Whis uses his usual tone to continue speaking. 'Forgive me, Bulma, but I must ask, why did you suddenly prepare that?'

'Oh, come on Whis,' she winks at him, 'we are all friends here, right?'

'Yes, right!' Whis quietly mutters like he doesn't believe it, 'but like I said, we will have to decline your offer. Thank you, but not this time.'

Without giving it even a second, Whis turns off his staff and then rectifies it, and then only does Lord Beerus come out of his shocked state.

'Whis!' he screams, his eyes going wild, 'Are you out of your _mind_? Did you see the amount of food on that platter?' he rants, even waving his arms about to emphasise the seriousness of the situation. 'What am I going to eat, now that you've deprived me of the chance?'

'I'll make the recipe that Chi-Chi gave me,' Whis calmly assures him.

Chi-Chi! Again with that Chi-Chi! What's so special about her that Whis should want to pass up ready food to make food from scratch? And who wants her recipe when it isn't ready yet?!

'That Chi-Chi is a nuisance,' he exclaims to Whis' face, very annoyed that he missed a meal all thanks to her so-called recipe.

He doesn't know anything about Goku's wife, but he knows that he doesn't like her at the moment. What's to say that her recipe will exceed Vegeta's wife's food? What's to assure him that her recipe won't take a tediously long time to make?

'Actually,' Whis sternly defends, 'she's pleasantly a wonderful person. I like her. Now, didn't you say that you wanted to take a bath? I'll draw you a bath and cook while you bath.'

'You forgot to say that's an order, _Lord Whis_ ,' he coldly says to his departing servant.

Whis doesn't give him a response, but he knows that it's only because Whis won't discuss the matter with him any further. Although he didn't go right out and say that it's an order, Lord Beerus knows that he'll have to do what Whis says, whether he likes it or not.

That Chi-Chi person...

He watches Whis glide off towards the house, feeling a strong pull to separate this Chi-Chi away from meeting Whis again. If from one meeting alone she managed to impress Whis enough to like her, who knows if the next time that they cross paths, she might convince Whis to start a garden? No, Whis only takes orders from him, not _any_ whichever commoner that decides that her recipe is wonderful enough for Whis to try.

This Goku's wife… he'll have to talk to Goku about her.

* * *

Chapter 6, **Celestial Ascension.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6, **Celestial Ascension.**

* * *

He's had bad days before, he's had really bad days where he couldn't even shut his eyes at night, because his insides were burning with the need to win over a bad guy. There haven't been too many bad days in his whole life, that he can count them on all of his fingers, but they've been enough for him to remember that _none of those bad days ever_ really made him feel like _this_.

And so, his conclusion is that something's wrong with him. Because he's never felt like this, there must be something wrong with him. The problem is that he doesn't know _what's_ wrong with him, though, just that something _is_ wrong and he needs a way to fix it. It's that he's so unsatisfied with the answers that he has so far.

By nature, he's a curious man, who always wants to know everything, but this is different somehow. This thing with Chi-Chi is not a simple case of itching curiosity, it's more insistent and stubborn to leave him. At first, he thought that if he found someone else who agreed with him on the strangeness of his wife and Whis spending time together, he would be okay and be able to move on from there, but all _that_ did, is agitate him further. When he looks back now, going to talk to Bulma made this whole thing worse.

Goku lets out a bothered sigh, thinking of his visit to Bulma.

Where he wanted to feel settled, he found more reason to dig deeper, which is why he went to see his father-in-law, to see maybe if he could talk to him about Chi-Chi. Unfortunately, to his displeasure, the Ox King was too busy with his daily duties to pay him any real attention, and that is how he came here, to his son's house.

He lets out another sigh, for no apparent reason before closing his hand around the handle and turning it.

Without knocking, he walks in through the front door, going straight for where he feels three energies coming from. That's a surprise, he absently thinks to himself, he didn't expect Goten to be here too, but he's not all that surprised either. Goten loves to hang around Gohan more than anyone would believe. He remembers how Chi-Chi once mentioned that since Goten got used to having Gohan around every day before he married Videl, it's a little hard for the little guy to not see his brother every day like he used to.

Well, Goku thinks as he walks further into the house, it's a good thing that Goten is here, because the little guy always manages to lighten his day. Something about Goten, about the way he laughs at everything, and his carefree spirit, always brightens Goku's day. And that's one of the best things about having sons.

'Gohan? Goku starts calling out. 'Goten? Piccolo?'

Almost immediately after his call, a little boy with the same hair as his comes running towards him from the opposite direction, to swiftly jump up in the air to be caught by his father.

'Dad!' Goten happily exclaims, taking his usual spot on his father's shoulder.

'Hey, Goten,' Goku replies, looking to his left shoulder.

Seeing the bright and welcoming smile on Goten's face, Goku notices that what felt like an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach just a few seconds ago, has now left him, to be replaced by penetrating lightness. He's so lucky to have the little guy as his son, he proudly thinks. Anyone can say what they want, but he swears that no one has better children than the two that he and Chi-Chi created. Their sons are the perfect combination of intelligent, strong and pure-hearted qualities that not many people can brag about having.

'Did you sell all your vegetables today, Dad?' Goten starts, emitting an innocent laugh at the end of his question.

Usually, he'd laugh along with his son before giving him an answer, however, this time, Goku feels something that he's never felt before with his son; a sinking feeling comparable to the uncomfortable one that _apparently_ left him. He doesn't know how or what, or even why, but just now, seeing Goten laugh, a nasty thought suddenly occurred to him.

What if, one day, Goten grows tired of this?

With a frown, he starts to wonder if a time will come when Goten will no longer want to jump into his arms, or sit on his shoulders, or lay on his lap, or sit on his back while he does push-ups, or even any other type of contact like that. What if the day comes when Goten couldn't be bothered with him, because of someone else more important in his life? What if that day comes too soon, because he sure doesn't want to lose what he has with Goten…

'Hallo, Dad,' Goten partly sings to gets his attention, a little frown on his adorable face, 'did you hear me?'

Oh man, he sourly acknowledges, something really _is_ wrong with him. He's never had these kinds of thoughts before, first about Chi-Chi and now Goten? No, something _is_ wrong with him, that he feels like he could lose what he has with his son, and also his doubts about Chi-Chi… Just what is wrong with him today?

'Goku,' it's Piccolo's voice that brings him out of his thoughts this time.

Although he focuses out of his thought just in time to see Piccolo and Gohan meet them from inside the kitchen, he doesn't focus enough to remember that he didn't give Goten an answer.

'Hi, Dad,' Gohan smiles his way. 'What are you doing here?'

Huh… That's an interesting question.

He had thoughts when he got here, but he can't exactly say that he knows what he's doing here. The only reason that he came here in the first place, is because the Ox King didn't have time to entertain him, it's not necessarily that he wanted to see Gohan specifically.

'Well…' he scratches the back of his head, suddenly feeling embarrassed to say what's wrong with him.

For one thing, he doesn't know what's wrong with him, so that presents a problem. And for another, if he has to narrate to Gohan what he narrated to Bulma and Vegeta, he'll probably sound silly, and he definitely doesn't want to sound silly in front of his son, not when his son is as smart as his mother is. Gohan has the brain of his mother and her genes more than his too, so if he says to Gohan what he said to their friends, Gohan will most likely come to the same conclusion and give him the same answer as Chi-Chi; that he has nothing to worry about.

'Uh…' he looks from Gohan to Piccolo, quickly searching his mind for something to tell them, that's not a lie, and then lets out a nervous laugh. 'Uh, well, it's just uh… where's Videl?'

Gohan gives him a puzzled look, 'Videl?'

Okay, he probably could've done better than that, but he panicked and well, Videl's the first thing that came to his mind.

'Yeah, um, I want something to eat,' he answers, lightly chuckling to ease himself down.

'Goku,' Piccolo crosses his arms, his eyes narrowing, 'you have a wife at home who gets pleasure from cooking, you _can't_ tell me that there's nothing to eat at home.'

That's Piccolo, Goku thinks, nothing ever gets passed him. Goku's never been able to fully keep anything from him and it's not a bad thing.

'Yeah, Dad,' Goten agrees, placing his small hand on his father's cheek. 'Mom always has the best food at home, better than Videl's.'

'Piccolo's right,' Gohan agrees with a loving laugh, 'no one loves to cook more than Mom does. I can't believe that you came here instead of going home.'

First taking a little time to appreciate how loving Gohan sounded just now when he spoke about Chi-Chi, Goku barely manages to keep a frown off his face as he thinks that he knows _that_. He doesn't need the three of them to tell him how much Chi-Chi likes to prepare food, or how delicious her food is. It's just that he panicked, because suddenly, the idea of talking about Whis and Chi-Chi to his son, seems like an embarrassing thing to do. It uncomfortably feels like if he mentions his discomfort, Gohan will see him differently.

'Ha ha,' Goku nervously lets out again, 'yeah, but Whis was there before me, so he had some of my food.'

He didn't mean to mention Whis this time either, but the panic must've apparently gotten to him, because he's mentioned Whis even after thinking that he couldn't speak to his son about Whis, for the fear of being embarrassed and hearing the same reply that Chi-Chi told him.

'Whis?' Piccolo makes the same face almost identical to the one Bulma made when he mentioned Whis and Chi-Chi.

Goku takes careful note of his expression, but he doesn't say anything, because he still doesn't want Gohan to hear him talk about Chi-Chi and Whis.

'Well,' Gohan starts, apparently not affected the way Piccolo was by the news, 'I think there are some leftovers in the fridge, that's if I didn't eat them already. I'm going to check,' he finishes with a child-like laugh.

'Was Whis really at our house, Dad?' Goten asks curiously. 'Did he come to invite you to train with him?'

Even though he hears Goten, he chooses to slide over to Piccolo. Using his hand to shield his words from escaping to the side that Gohan went, he makes his problem known.

'Hey Piccolo, I found Whis with Chi-Chi today, and to be honest, I didn't really like it. You think it's strange too, right? I saw that face you made.'

This time, unlike when he went to see Bulma, he's not looking for someone that will agree with him and give him a sense of validation, rather, he wants to get the bottom of what the problem is. Seeing as Piccolo showed his surprise for the news, maybe he'll finally get to find out what's wrong with him, because his friend probably feels the same way as he does.

Once again, Piccolo's eyes thin, suspicion written all over his face. 'What are you insinuating, Goku?'

'I don't know,' he answers honestly with a shrug. 'I don't even know why it's bothering me like this. I don't know Piccolo, it's just strange, right? Whis and Chi-Chi?'

The truth is, if he could figure it himself, he wouldn't even be going from person to person, trying to find one of them that will get him to settle his thoughts. If he could diagnose himself, he would do it, but since he can't, he'll need help from his friends. Except, in the minute that it takes Piccolo to ponder Goku's words, Gohan returns to them with an apple in his hands.

'Sorry Dad,' he apologises, 'I guess I forgot that I ate the leftovers. I found an apple, though.'

Goku takes the apple that Gohan's offering him, he even thanks his son for it, but he doesn't bite into it. Food is the last thing on his mind right now. Even if Gohan offered him his favourite dessert, he wouldn't be interested in eating it.

'What, you're not going to eat the apple, Dad?' Gohan wants to know, looking a little confused.

'Goku's suspicious of Whis and Chi-Chi,' Piccolo bluntly blurts out before Goku can answer. 'And I think he has a point.'

If Piccolo didn't side with him the way that he just did, Goku would've exclaimed for him to not say anything to Gohan. But, what's said is said, and it can't be taken back, he'll just have to think carefully before he speaks.

'What?' Gohan can't believe his ears apparently, making his eyes blink three times.

'Think about it Gohan,' Piccolo says, 'Beerus loves to eat, and Whis does everything that Beerus tells him to. I think Beerus is up to something here, it can't be a coincidence that Whis ate her food when he normally eats with Bulma. I don't know what it is, but even I don't like the idea of Whis hanging around your mother.'

Well, Goku didn't think of it like _that_. So maybe Beerus has something to do with this, and yes, that would explain the package that Chi-Chi gave Whis, but the thought of Beerus instructing Whis to be with Chi-Chi for something, isn't disturbing at all. Not like the actual idea of Whis spending even a second with his wife does.

'I don't care about Beerus,' Goku says in a slight sulk to Piccolo, speaking right from his heart. 'I just don't like Whis sitting with Chi-Chi.' There he went again, he should've thought before he spoke.

For a second, Gohan only shifts his eyes from him and then to Piccolo, and then suddenly bursts out laughing at the pair of them. Unable to understand what suddenly got into Gohan, both Goku and Piccolo look at him with waiting expressions.

'If I didn't know any better,' Gohan starts once he quietens down some, I'd say the two of you are jealous of Whis.'

'Jealous?' both Goku and Piccolo exclaim at the same time.

Except, where Piccolo pulls his head back in stunned disbelief, Goku jumps back with such force that Goten goes flying off his shoulders to land on his bottom on the floor between the three of them.

'Ow! Dad!' Goten complains, picking himself up at the same time.

Realising what he did, Goku quickly bends down to pull his son close, to stand somewhat in between the space between his legs, keeping one hand on Goten's shoulder. There's less risk of him hurting his son that way.

'I'm sorry, Goten,' he apologises, looking down at his son with a soft expression. 'I didn't mean to do that.'

'It's okay,' Goten tells him with a smile, and then his smile fades into a frown to ask, 'Are you really jealous of Whis, Dad?'

Man, the question hits him like a calculated punch, when Goten asks it like that, he makes it sound like an accusation. Goku feels almost accused by his own son, and to be honest, that doesn't sit well with him. He doesn't like the idea of any of his sons thinking less of him, because of this. Goten especially, likesto comment on how strong like his father he wants to be... this could change Goten's perception of him.

'Me, jealous? Of Whis? No, Son, I'm not jealous,' he says to his little guy, shaking his head for effect.

He said it, and he wants to believe it, because he knows nothing about this jealousy business However, the problem is, now that Gohan has said it, he can't help it question if _maybe_ , this restlessness that he's feeling, this thing that he's feeling that he can't identify, but refuses to leave him, if all this, is jealousy that he feels.

It could be, he tells himself, it could be jealousy and he just doesn't know it, because he's never had a chance to be jealous before now, and so he doesn't know what it's like to be jealous. He's never even been jealous of anyone's strength, no matter how much stronger than him they were.

'I know you're not,' Gohan calmly replies, 'but you made it sound like you are. I mean, Whis is a good guy and Beerus is on our side now, so there's nothing to worry about. He won't try to do anything to Mom, especially since she's your wife, Dad, and you need her.'

He already knows that Beerus wouldn't do something like try anything with Chi-Chi, any dummy would figure that out, but his concern isn't Beerus. It's Whis.

'Hmph,' Piccolo sticks his chin up in the air, apparently offended. 'Why would I even be jealous of your mother concerning Whis, Gohan?'

Giving off the air off someone pooling his thoughts together, Gohan shrugs, 'I don't know, Piccolo, _but_ you do run a lot of errands for her, even though you complain about it. Hypothetically, it could be a sub-conscious invention where you created a world where Mom and Whis are friends, and she doesn't need you anymore. Everybody likes to be needed, Piccolo.'

'Believe me,' Piccolo answers after clearing his throat, 'if your mother had a friend, I'd be relieved to stop running all around town for her.'

On the Chi-Chi and Piccolo situation, Goku doesn't in the least bit care what she makes him do, but to be honest, he would have to side with Gohan on this. As much as Piccolo claims Chi-Chi abuses him, he never fails to do what she asks him too. Any normal person would make up an excuse to escape what they don't want to do, and yet Piccolo always does what Chi-Chi wants without making up a single excuse.

'If you say so...' Gohan says, shaking his head, unwilling to believe before turning to his father. 'And you, Dad, I think you think that you view Whis as a threat. Hypothetically, I mean,' Gohan makes it clear. 'If you think about it, Whis is kind and caring. He's strong and he loves to eat. Essentially, he's the picture of what attracted Mom to you in the first place, and you're uncomfortable with him being around her, because she could grow to like him too. You've never had to worry about anyone being around Mom, because they didn't have all it takes to interest her. I mean, you never complain about Piccolo and Mom. Whis, on the other hand...'

As Gohan trails off, Goku can only stare at him and wonder for a while. How is it possible that his son came up with all that in such little time? There have been times when he looked at his son and his amazement was endless at how well Chi-Chi had cultivated his mind for the first fifteen years of his life that she home-schooled him, but this is an all new kind of amazing. The fact that he could create such deductions with little information is... wow. But then he gets over that, because he remembers what Gohan said about Chi-Chi and Whis.

Chi-Chi? His wife Chi-Chi, grow to like Whis? Is that what Gohan is suggesting, because the simple thought makes him feel that feeling he gets right before he transforms into his Blue mode. Knowing that he shouldn't be feeling like he needs to go Blue, he attempts to shake that strong feeling out of him by letting out a long nervous laugh.

'Ha ha ha, Gohan,' Goku says between now short laughs, 'that's the funniest thing I've heard today. I can't be jealous of Whis. I like him.'

Man, the feeling is refusing to leave him. He thought that after a long laugh, he'd stop feeling like he is going to unleash all of his strength and then use it on something, but nothing has happened so far. Maybe he _is_ jealous, and this is what being jealous feels like... like... like he wants to be aggressive for no reason.

'Well, even if you were,' his son tells him, 'you have nothing to worry about. Mom would never look at anyone who's not you.'

If those words were supposed to be a comfort of some kind, Goku thinks, they aren't. In fact, instead of comforting him, they make him feel worse than before. Now that Gohan's put the disturbing idea in his head, it's not so easy to listen to the words 'don't worry.' He already felt unsettled without a real reason, but now that Gohan has put thoughts in head…

'And yet,' Piccolo comments, a little sourly it sounds, 'she called Monaka the ideal man. A strong man with a job, wasn't _that_ what she said?'

What?

For a long second, Goku feels his heart beat excessively, like it's raging with a hurricane that's ready to knock everything out of its way. One of his also hands forms into a fist without his permission.

Monaka?

As he feels his closed hand begin to twitch, he notices that his heart doesn't seem like it has any intention of slowing down, and even if it did, he's not all that sure that he _wants_ it to stop.

Seriously, the strong Monaka? When did Chi-Chi say _that_ about _Monaka_?

'It was a joke,' he hears Gohan assure Piccolo. 'Mom would never trade any part of Dad. She told me so herself, she loves him just the way he is.'

'Yeah, well,' Piccolo grunts back, 'I still wouldn't count Beerus out of this equation.'

'Piccolo, I'm telling you-' Gohan starts to insist when Goku cuts him off with a question.

'Hey guys? Monaka…' he pauses for a while to think of an answer to his own question, 'which planet does he live on again?'

'You know where he lives, Dad,' Goten speaks up, making his presence known again.

Both Piccolo and Gohan put on shocked expressions, unanimously shouting, 'Goten!

'I do?' he lifts Goten up on his shoulders again.

He doesn't remember going to Monaka's planet before. The last time that they had a match, it was here on Earth.

'Uh-huh,' Goten happily replies with a nod. 'We stopped by there when you and Vegeta came to rescue us, remember? When we got locked in his work van?'

'Well then, Goten,' he prepares himself, 'I guess we'll just have to go over to Monaka's planet.'

He'll go to Monaka –this so-called ideal man- and then he'll stop over by Beerus' planet to settle this thing with Whis.

'But Dad-' Gohan tries to protest, only to realise that his protest won't reach his father's ears.

* * *

Chapter 7, **Dead Wrong.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7, **Dead Wrong.**

* * *

As his feet touch the ground on King Kai's planet, Goku once again reminds himself, that this is just another adventure in his life. He doesn't want to think of this journey as a matter that he has to settle before he goes to bed tonight, because that would mean accepting that he's somehow jealous, and _that,_ he doesn't want to do.

'We're here, Goten,' he announces to his son, his eyes beginning to search for the person that he wants.

'Woah,' Goten exclaims, his voice filled with wonder, 'this is a small planet. Where are we?'

Impulsively, Goku answers, 'King Kai's planet,' as though Goten asked a silly question, only for him to remember that as much as _he_ spends time on this planet, no one from his family has actually ever been here, on the planet to see it for themselves.

'You mean King Kai lives on this small planet?' his son asks for clarity it seems.

Goku can't say it's quite so, but it sounded like Goten expected King Kai to live on a better-than-this planet. He can't blame Goten for thinking like that, because he'd expected more when he first came to King Kai's planet as well.

'Yeah,' he answers, moving his arm to go around Goten's back on his shoulder to keep him steady. 'It has something to do with the gravity. King Kai likes to have thick gravity here.'

'Oh,' comes out of his son's mouth. 'That makes sense, I guess.'

'Yeah,' he agrees, letting a small smile slide on his face, mostly for Goten's presence.

If he's being honest with himself, he likes that Goten is here with him. Being with Goten makes him feel more like himself, and that way, he's easily able to believe that he is going to outer space for nothing more than an adventure with his little boy. With the way he feels, and much more how he doesn't understand or know what's really wrong within him, making himself believe that he's going on an adventure is just the thing that he needs.

'But Dad, Monaka doesn't live here.'

'I know,' he answers, beginning to take his first steps towards King Kai's house, 'but I don't have anyone's energy to lock into over on Monaka's planet. I need King Kai's help for that.'

If there's one thing that he can count on King Kai for, it's his help. King Kai never fails to help him, no matter how many times he complains about Goku constantly using his planet for training.

Just then, King Kai along with Gregory and Bubbles come out of the house, and as soon as King Kai's eyes fall on Goku, his face brightens up.

'Oh, Goku, it's you,' he says happily. 'Did you come here to train? Because you haven't been here in a while.'

Goku knew it, going by the expectant look on King Kai's face, he can finally confirm that King Kai does like to have him on his planet after all. King Kai must love his company, no matter how much he complains about it. In fact, when he thinks about it, King Kai is just like Piccolo. Piccolo complains about running errands for Chi-Chi, but Goku knows that he doesn't really mind, because helping Chi-Chi means partly helping Gohan, his best friend, and that makes him feel useful in a way.

'Sorry, King Kai,' he apologises, feeling bad for disappointing his previous teacher like he is, 'I didn't come here to train.'

'Aaah,' King Kai replies in a mix between surprise and discovery. 'Don't tell me that you brought me your son to babysit,' he points at Goten, 'because if he looks like you, I can only imagine that he's just as troublesome as you too.'

'Who, Goten?' he curves his head to look at the little boy on his shoulder. 'No, Chi-Chi raised him to behave around strangers, and besides, I didn't bring him here to be babysat. I'm taking him on a little adventure in outer space, but we kind of need your help with that.'

'You always need my help with something,' King Kai complains, 'but you never just stop by to stop by!'

Oddly, he clearly understands what's _not_ coming from King Kai's mouth. If it wasn't for today, he probably wouldn't have caught on this fast, because he would've been too busy not paying proper attention. However, since the whole thing with Chi-Chi and Whis today, he has the automatic reflex of paying proper attention.

Although he genuinely feels bad that King Kai feels like that about him, there's something more pressing that he has to deal with… or rather, there's an adventure that he has to go on, that can't wait.

'Some other time, King Kai,' he promises his longtime friend. 'Right now, I need your help finding Monaka's planet.'

King Kai pulls his head back, almost like he expected a lot of things, but no that one particular sentence that came from Goku's mouth.

'Monaka?' the deity asks in a suspicious tone, his eyes going from Goku to Goten on his shoulder.

'Yes, Monaka. There's something that I need to ask him, that's all. I'm not going to pick a fight with him, I promise.'

He's well aware that people have this impression of him, that all he ever wants to do is fight and train, and usually he doesn't mind it, because he knows the truth and the people that matter know the truth, but in this case with King Kai, he feels like the man needs assurance that no fighting will take place.

Even if he did want to fight, he's not in the mood to do it. Of course, there have been a few times today that he wanted to transform into his fighting modes, but the truth is, his heart is far from wanting to fight. Least of all with Monaka. Monaka may be strong, but Monaka's not really his concern at the moment. Not really. What's really going on, is that he feels restless and he needs answers, and going to see Monaka is just another way of working on his restlessness.

'I don't believe you,' King Kai crosses his arms, turning his head the other way.

'Aw, King Kai, why would I lie?'

He doesn't lie, if he wanted to fight with Monaka, he would've come out and said that he wants to have a little sparring with the small guy.

'You wouldn't,' the blue man answers, turning his head back, 'but who knows what will happen once you see him?'

This is not going to work, Goku decides with a sigh. For one thing, he doesn't have the time to stand around and convince King Kai, and for another, Monaka can wait, he supposes. When he thinks about it, he can't really say that he's all that interested in going to see Monaka anyway, and also, the way he knows King Kai, it'll take a little more convincing to get him to give in and give up Monaka's planet. No, this really isn't going to work.

'Okay, King Kai,' he begins to prepare himself with his two fingers to his forehead, 'never mind. And see you.'

'Wait!' King Kai stops him just a fraction before he disappears. 'You're really just leaving like that?' he asks, sounding increduled. 'You're not going to pester me until I give up?'

King Kai's a strange man, Goku thinks as he casts a side eye at him, is that what he really wants? Because he doesn't have time for that. Shrugging once to show the deity that he's not really game for pestering, he takes the chance to disappear without saying a second goodbye.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

He doesn't know how many more people he'll have to see today, but he sure hopes that this is his last stop. It's not so much that he's tired of going around from place to place, it's only now that he's on Beerus' planet, he hopes that talking to Whis will settle things into place for him.

Before he opens the castle doors, he lifts Goten off his shoulder, to set him on the floor, so that they can stand side by side.

'We're here Goten,' he says without looking at his son, because he is too busy preparing himself internally.

This is it. He's not scared to be here, but somehow, his heart wants him to believe the lie that's he's nervous, because it suddenly started with a different beating pattern than its usual one. Not even when he's not confident about a life threatening battle, has his heart beat like this before, so he doesn't know why it feels the need to do so now.

'Wow, Dad, I've always wanted a tour around their planet,' Goten answers him. 'Will you show me?'

'Sure,' he absently agrees, when he's really more concentrated on opening the castle doors and wondering what his hear means by doing what it's doing.

Even in his state, he's inattentive state, he's still aware enough to know not to leave his son behind as he takes his first steps into the castle. He may be distracted, but that doesn't mean that he's not able to remember what's going on around him.

He knows his way around the castle, considering how he'd done housework in there at the beginning of his training, but he still feels the need to call out for the one that he wants.

'Whis?'

'In here,' Whis cheerily replies not even a second after the call.

Whis' reply makes his heart do something even stranger, that for a second, Goku stops and looks down at Goten to see if he's the only one that felt it, or if Goten felt something like a dull fright wash over his heart too. When he notices that Goten is blankly staring back at him with innocence, it dawns on his that he's alone in feeling what he felt. Seriously, what does his heart think it's doing?

'Come on,' he softly says to his son, reaching his hand down to take Goten's hand. 'It sounds like his voice is coming from the kitchen.'

Goten easily takes his hand, sealing the action with an innocent smile that starts in his eyes, and Goku finds himself breathing out a small breath of relief for having Goten here with him. He didn't think about it a second ago when he reached his hand down to hold his son's hand, but now that he's joined at the hands with Goten, it makes his heart feel better in a way.

Nearing the kitchen, his nose starts to pick up the smell of food, but he doesn't think anything of it immediately. Considering the way that Beerus likes to eat, the smell of food in the castle isn't something strange.

As he reaches the one entrance into the kitchen, Beerus also comes in through the other entrance, dressed in a white robe and a headband around his head. From the look of it, it seems that Beerus just came from taking a bath. It escapes Goku's mind to look for Whis with his eyes, rather focusing on the god who just entered with him.

'Whis,' Beerus calls, making his servant's name sound like a sour thing in his mouth, 'is that food ready yet?'

'Lord Beerus,' Goku greets after realising that the god didn't see him.

A little surprised, the god looks his way. 'Goku? What are you doing here?'

Well, it seems like everyone is asking him that question today. And just like the previous time, he doesn't seem to have an answer. Not even if he'd gone to see Monaka, would he have had a proper answer for that question. It's that no one seems to see that all he wants are answers, but it's apparently not as simple as simply just saying that.

'Well…' he begins, when Beerus waves his answer away.

'Never mind,' he drones, 'it's just as well that you are here, because I have a message for your wife.'

Wait, what?

Goku frowns in incomprehension. 'Chi-Chi?'

Only after he says his wife's name, does Goku realise that he made it sound like he has another wife, by another name. His surprise is to blame for that, he reasons, because there is no reason for Beerus to have a message for Chi-Chi. He didn't even realise that the god had any interest in Chi-Chi, well, because Chi-Chi doesn't go around announcing her presence.

Sure, that had been that one time during Champa's tournament that Chi-Chi got to come along to, and later jumped from her seat to make sure that he was all right when Frost knocked him out of the ring, but other than that, he can't find any reason for why Beerus would interested in Chi-Chi. Let alone have a message for her.

'Yes, her,' Lord Beerus answers. 'I don't like her putting ideas in Whis' head. Make sure to tell her to keep away from Whis, otherwise I will have no problem destroying her.'

At the mention of Whis, that thing that his heart had been doing, starts up again, only this time, his physical body also joins in, beginning to frizzle uncomfortably. Goku quickly cuts his eyes to find Whis, and when he finds that Whis has his back turned to them and carrying on with his work as though he isn't aware of their presence. The very skin covering his body, begins to tingle. Except, it's not the good kind of tingling. It's like couldn't be bothered to look at them and listen to what they're talking about, and that isn't sitting well with Goku.

' _You_ tell Whis to stay away from Chi-Chi!' he directs at the god, his tone more than exacerbated.

It's not like Chi-Chi is the one that went looking for Whis, so Beerus shouldn't say something like that. he clearly doesn't know what he's talking about, because Chi-Chi isn't one who seeks fro attention. Also, Whis needs to be told to stay away from Chi-Chi.

'Whis is right _here_ ,' Whis finally decides to say, a small amount of humour in his tone. 'And yes, the food is all done, Lord Beerus. Now,' the angel faces them, 'if you would all take your seats. I'm quite excited to see how this turned out.'

Turning his eyes to Whis once again, Goku quietly considers Whis. He considers the curiously soft smile on his pale blue face, he considers the glaze in his blue eyes, and he considers the excited air that surrounds the angel, trying to find a conclusion from all that.

It doesn't appear in the least bit that Whis is concerned about their worries, because he has something far more important that has his attention than the two of them. Even as Whis waves his staff over the table, laying four places, he looks more excited than before, that Goku can't help it pull in long heavy breath and squint at his teacher suspiciously.

What, does he think this talk about Chi-Chi is lightweight business?

He nearly says something about it to Whis, when he feels Goten quickly let go of his hand. When he looks down to see what Goten is up to, he finds his son already running to the laid table.

'What did you make, Whis?' Goten asks as he takes his seat. 'I didn't know you cooked. You always eat with Bulma, so I thought you didn't know how to cook.'

That's just like Goten, Goku thinks. He supposes that he can't blame his son for being open hearted and willingly trusting, because he had been like that as a child. Even now, actually, he's still open hearted and trusting. That is, except concerning this new business with Chi-Chi and Whis.

Whis chuckles lightly to answer, 'Well, I'm not really a cook, but I do know how to follow instructions. I received a recipe from Chi-Chi, and she recommended that I make it for Lord Beerus.'

And he says it so casually, Goku notes, feeling his skin tingling just that little bit more than before.

'From Mom? Which recipe did she give you?'

From the way he asks, Goku can tell that Goten is wowed by the news, and for that he looks at Beerus with a sour expression. In sync with him, Beerus looks at him too, showing a less-than-impressed expression as well. He doesn't know what's going on in Beerus' head, but he doesn't appreciate the idea of Goten taking an interest in Whis like this, and somehow, he feels like it's Beerus' fault.

'The one with celery and uh…' Whis starts to happily provide the information, but trails off as though he forgot some of it.

Gliding effortlessly, Whis goes back to look at the recipe, and then only completes with, 'ah… hot curry pork.'

Hot curry pork?! His favourite dish?! That's what Chi-Chi gave him?

Simmering more than he is visibly frowning, Goku pops his eyes out at Whis, currently unable to find the word to say to his teacher. All he can think is that Chi-Chi gave him that one recipe, when she shouldn't have. While he'll admit that it's not really his overall favourite, he still considers it his favourite dish, because everything that Chi-Chi makes is his favourite. How can Whis just talk about Chi-Chi's food as though it's a common any which thing for the whole world?

Goten smiles widely and oh-so innocently unaware at his father, while he says to Whis, 'That's a really good one. Dad loves it. I can't wait to eat it.'

'Really?' Whis wonders. 'Well, don't expect much, I'm not as excellent a cook as Chi-Chi, but thank you.'

Right then, Whis looks at Goku, and that's how Goku reads the delighted wonder on his face. It's like Whis is more excited at the idea of someone being curious to eat _his_ version of the recipe, than anything else.

That's just Whis, Goku tells himself, he has this free spirited away of talking about things, even serious things. That's just the way Whis is, the only problem with that now, is that Goku kind of suddenly resents that side of Whis…

'Come and sit, Dad,' Goten interrupts his thoughts, 'Whis made Mom's curry pork. You told Gohan that you were hungry.'

'I'm not hungry,' he says to Goten, but shows a big disapproving frown to Whis. 'We're going home now, Goten.'

Suddenly, he doesn't feel like being here anymore. He doesn't want to be here, he doesn't want to have to look at Whis' cheerful face, and hear his careless remarks and be witness to the way he dismisses important topics like they mean nothing, and he certainly doesn't want to stay and eat what Whis made from a few ingredients that Goku worked on with his own hands.

'But Dad,' his son tries to protest.

'No, Goten,' he sternly maintains, going to the table to physically pick his son up, 'we're leaving. Whis,' he turns to his teacher, holding out his free hand, 'the thing Chi-Chi gave you.'

'I'll return it to her myself,' Whis assures him with a soft laugh, 'you don't need to worry about that. Lord Beerus,' he looks around Goku to his master, 'are _you_ coming to eat?'

'Give the thing to Goku, Whis,' Goku hears the god say from behind him. 'I forbid you to meet with that woman again.'

Because his eyes haven't left Whis for even a fraction of a split second, Goku watches as Whis suddenly loses his smile. Including the excited air that had been surrounding him, all of Whis' positivity leaves him, to be replaced by a hard expression. The glaze in his eyes, the humour in his voice, and the carefree attitude that he'd been displaying, all fade off his face, to make way for the newly hard expression.

'Lord Beerus,' Whis's sober voice calls, 'am I loyal to you?'

Something about Whis' even voice, makes Goku feel uncomfortable, so uncomfortable that he finds himself turning back to see if Beerus feels the same way that he does. Seeing Whis this sober and hearing him sound this even, makes Goku wonder… Seeing Beerus looking uncomfortable while he nods, also makes him wonder.

'And you, Goku,' Whis says, making him turn back so that they are facing each other, 'do I not train you whenever you ask?'

For a reason that he doesn't understand, Goku all of a sudden feels like he needs to get defensive.

'What does that have to do with anything?' he asks Whis.

' _Do I not train you whenever you ask_?' Whis repeats himself.

This second time, however, is more pronounced, more defined and unable to be avoided.

'You do,' Goku begrudgingly answers.

He doesn't like this one bit. It feels to him like he and Whis are toe to toe, with each of them calculating the other's strength, while waiting for even the smallest of moves, to strike.

'Very well,' Whis accepts, sounding a little to regal fro Goku's liking. 'Do you know how old I am?'

Again, he wants to ask what that has to do with anything, but he chooses to shake his head instead.

'I've lived for much longer than Lord Beerus over there,' Whis begins to tell him. 'I've served a total of five gods, including Lord Beerus. I've seen and met a variety of people and things, but _never_ , not once in my life, have I met a genuine person, with a genuine soul that didn't seek anything for herself when she looked at me.'

What is he talking about? When Chi-Chi looked at him?

'You, Goku,' he continues, 'looked at me and saw a teacher to help you advance in strength. Your friend, Bulma, looked at me and saw an ally for when things get out of hand. And the list goes on. However, your wife, Chi-Chi is sincere and I like her. I want her for a friend.'

And he says it just like that? Like it's a harmless thing? Goku can't believe his ears.

Without warning, Beerus materialises to them and then lets out a long yawn. 'Whis, stop with this. If I forbid you to see that woman, then I forbid you.'

'She's my wife,' Goku also adds hotly, thankful for Beerus' support, 'and I don't like you with her.'

Slowly raising a single eyebrow, Whis' expression completely changes. 'Oh?' he seems to challenge.

Goku suddenly really hates Whis' soft unthreatening tone, and yet, so challenging. It makes him want to _really_ punch him.

'Yes,' he answers through clenched teeth.

Taking a small step backwards from them, Whis firstly lets out a mirthless laugh and then only holds out hos hand to summon his staff. Once he has it in his hand, he pays them full attention.

'Lord Beerus,' he looks at the god, 'I respect you, and I would never betray you. And Goku, I admire your determination…'

For someone who acted the way that he did and then summoned his staff, Goku had been thinking that Whis would do or show them something that would change their minds, but apparently, this is all he has to say.

'However,' he picks up, 'if either of you believe that you can stop me from having a friend for the first time in my entire existence, then I'd like to see you try.'

Was… was that a threat?

Oh, how he wishes that Beerus would punch him, so that he would have an excuse to lash out and let out all of his frustration with today and what Whis just said. He wonders, if he 'accidently' pushes Beerus…

'Dad,' Goten's tug on his uniform removes him from his thoughts again. 'Let Whis be Mom's friend. She always lets you go off to train, and then she's always alone at home.'

A little touched, Goku turns to his son in his arms. Goten does that, he looks out for both of them. When Chi-Chi doesn't easily agree to him going to train, Goten always intervenes and takes his side. He can't be surprised that Goten's doing the same for his Mom now.

He's about to tell his son that it's not as simple as he thinks it is, that it makes him really restless to think of Chi-Chi and Whis together, but then Whis lets out a long tired sigh.

'Now look what you've done,' he laments, looking bothered and saddened. 'With all this sour talk of forbidding, I'm afraid that I've lost my will to serve food.'

Before Whis glides off without another word, he gently waves his staff over the table to clear it of the plate. He leaves all three of them staring after him until their eyes can't see him anymore.

'Goku,' Lord Beerus starts in a growl, 'do what it takes to keep your wife away from my servant. I don't like her influence on Whis. It's unsettling and a god of destruction should never feel unsettled.'

What, Goku looks at the god, reassuring his features to look as puzzled as he feels, is this another threat?

Two threats on top of how he already feels? He really needs to get this right, did Beerus and Whis both threaten him about Chi-Chi? Chi-Chi is _his_ wife, and if he doesn't like Whis together with her, he _just_ doesn't like it. Whis as individual, he likes. Whis as a teacher, he admires completely. Whis as a servant, he respects, but Whis with his wife, _that_ Whis he can't stand. Whis is dead wrong if he thinks that he can be friends with Chi-Chi.

Just who in the world do they think he is? He's Son Goku… and Son Goku, doesn't fear limits. Their threats are but limits to him, and if it's war they want, well then…

* * *

Chapter 8, **Draw Me Close.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8, **Draw Me Close.**

* * *

'Goten, what's wrong with your father?' Chi-Chi finally asks when she can't take it anymore.

Now that Goku's left the dinner table prematurely, without so much as a word to her, her worry for him has surpassed its usual place.

Goten, for his part, only freezes, stopping his fork mid-way to his mouth, while his eyes enlarge a little, but just enough for her to see right through him. Her son may only be seven years old, but for his age he's too ahead in thought processes.

'What is it?' she peers at Goten, trying to get him to push past his hesitance. 'Did he lose a fight with someone?'

Clearly, if Goten is hesitant to tell her what happened, it must be because he believes that if he tells her, his father will get in trouble for it. While it _is_ thoughtful of him not to want to get his father in trouble, she really does need to know what's wrong with him, because until she does, her worry for Goku won't go away.

Earlier in the day, he wouldn't accept to remain calm when he found Whis in their home. Then much later, he returned home with Goten from only they know where, and he didn't say more than a greeting to her. And to make things worse, not too long ago when they all sat down at the table, he hardly touched his food, before mumbling his request to be excused and disappearing altogether. Behaviour like that, isn't typical of her Goku.

'Goten,' she tries again, softening her tone to reassure him that she has no intention of getting angry, 'tell me, what is it? Did he lose a fight with someone?'

Slowly shaking his head, her son replies with a quiet, 'No.'

Something's not right, she thinks to herself, feeling her stomach turn a little at the thought. It's not like Goku to behave like that, unless… He can't be sick, she desperately wonders, can he?

'Then why is he like that?' she presses. 'Is he sick?'

'I don't think so,' Goten replies, bowing his head, 'but Gohan says that he's jealous of Whis.'

Goku? She involuntarily frowns. Jealous? She feels her frown deepen. Of Whis? Huh?

'Goten…' she softly starts.

What she wants to ask, is if he's sure of what he's saying, because the idea of Goku actually being jealous of Whis, is just well, _ridiculous_. She wants to ask Goten to repeat what he said, and be sure of what he said, except, she can't make her mind form the words to ask her baby that.

When Goku was restless about Whis earlier on, she didn't think that it would get as far as him being jealous of Whis. Sure, she saw that he wasn't comfortable with the idea of Whis being in their house without him, but she tried to assure him that he had nothing to worry about, so she easily assumed that he got over it when he left to see Bulma.

'He doesn't want Whis to be your friend,' Goten tells her, as though testing for her reaction.

Unceremoniously, she snaps out of her thoughts, to glare at Goten.

'What?' she half demands, more than asks out of surprise.

Cowering slightly, Goten answers with, 'We went to see Whis, and Dad didn't even smile at him. He told Whis that he doesn't want him to be your friend.'

Goku did what? Of all of the things that she would've believed her husband capable of, she wouldn't have believed that he went as far as telling Whis to not be her friend. It's uncharacteristic of him, she ponders, because while she did notice his unease earlier on, she didn't think that it would amount to anything serious. Apparently, she doesn't know her husband as well as she should.

'Do you really think Dad's jealous, Mom?' Goten's curious voice brings her back to the present again.

Chi-Chi focuses her eyes on her little baby, to find him with an innocently curious expression, that's almost begging her to scoop him up in her arms and cradle him against her. With Goten, even the most confusing of things transform into adorability. Goten really is the carbon copy of his father.

To be honest, she hadn't really decided on how to feel about the whole Goku and Whis thing, until Goten asked her about his father's jealousy. Somehow, that innocently curious question, tapped open a private part in her heart, making her decide right there how she feels about this new situation.

'I'll have to talk to him to know,' she tells Goten with a thankful smile. 'Finish eating and then it's off to bed for you.'

'Awww, but, Mom…' he tries to protest.

Her baby's adorable, Chi-Chi thinks. He's even more adorable when he tries to get out of doing something that he doesn't want to do, but the fact remains that she is his mother, and as his mother, she has to lay down rules for him to follow. He's only a child, and since he travelled do far as to where Whis lives with Goku, his body must be tired.

'You have school tomorrow, Goten,' she reminds him, refraining from mentioning the trip to Whis' place.

'Okay,' he agrees with a sulk, going back to eating his food.

It'll only be second before he forgets all about sulking and looks up at her with a sweet smile, Chi-Chi watches him fondly. Really, her little Goten is too much like his father.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

'Goku?' she calls, closing the bathroom door. 'What's going on with you?'

She had to wait for Goten to finish his food and then go to bed before coming to look for her husband. Fortunately, it didn't take Goten that long to clear his plate and then run off to sleep. She wouldn't have liked it if she'd taken longer and found him asleep in their bed, because then she would've had to wake him up to talk to him.

Turning off the shower water, Goku looks at her with a somewhat forlorn expression on his face, something like she's never really seen on him before, which produces a small pang in her heart. Well, that expression and the fact that he's in the shower instead of the bathtub.

Goku usually doesn't like to shower, unless there's something bothering him and he can just stand under the shower to let the water run down his body, while he keeps his eyes closed and his mind on the thoughts bothering him.

This Whis thing must really be bothering him, she concludes.

'I didn't like today, Chi-Chi,' he confesses, his face all set up in a deep frown. 'I don't like today. I want it to be the next day.'

First reaching for a towel, she silently beckons for him to come out of the shower. While it is true that she's never dealt with her husband in this type of jealous situation before, and therefore doesn't know how to start attacking the problem in a way that's effective for him, she has dealt with all types of situations with him, and from that, she'll borrow a strategy from.

Goku obediently steps out of the curtainless shower, coming to stop in front of her. She silently begins to use the towel to wipe him off, because any word that she may speak, might redirect him from telling her how he really feels. It's important that she doesn't say anything, and rather let him feel like he's in control, so that he won't have a problem opening up to her; past experiences have taught her that.

Just as she's finishing his upper part, she feels his hand take hold of either wrists of hers, causing her to look at him in the eyes.

'I know we did it yesterday,' he starts in a low tome, 'but could we… could you wash my hair again? It always relaxes me.'

His begging eyes bore into hers, making it impossible for her to say no, even if she wanted to. Nodding to him, she folds up the towel and then goes to start the bath. Normally, when she would wash his hair twice a week, she would have him in chair, with his head tilted back over the laundry tubs, but today, she has the feeling that he won't like that.

'Get in,' she tells him, pointing to the tub.

Goku easily walks over to the tub and climbs in, while she brings the shampoo and conditioner from the small cabinet in the bathroom. Next, she takes off her clothes, neatly folding them, to place them atop the towel on the closed toilet pot, before climbing in the bath with the hair products in her hands.

She takes her place behind her husband, opening her legs to make space for him in her bosom and immediately wraps her arms around him, letting the shampoo and conditioner fall into the tub. She'll soon have to ask him to turn off the water, but for now, she only gently brings her face to touch the side of his neck.

'Goten tells me that you're jealous of Whis?' she brings up her question, using this intimate moment to talk to him.

'I like Whis, Chi-Chi,' he replies, a small whine detectable in his voice, 'I really do, but I _don't_ like him with you.'

He says it, she notes, as if it's the absolute finality in the world. He says that, like there's no room for change or to go around it, and that, well, it's something of a shocker to her.

'I don't want him to talk to you,' he continues, the whine fading to be replaced by a slight darkness, 'or look at you, but he says that he wants to be your friend. He can be 18 or Bulma's friend. Promise me that you'll not be his friend, Chi-Chi,' he asks darkly.

She can almost see the dark expression that he has on his face as he says that, even though she doesn't have the right angle of view to see it from. His tone alone, suggests a picture of his expression, that's almost incredibly clear in her mind.

It's really _this_ serious, is it? Back with Goten, she found it hopelessly endearing that someone as great as her husband can be jealous of something harmless, but now, she's starting to understand that Goku is taking this thing with Whis extremely seriously.

Wow, she didn't even know that Goku had it in him.

'Goku,' softly leaves her mouth, hoping that his name alone from her mouth, will caress his unease away.

As though in response to being called, Goku maneuvers his arms, so that her right arm is hooked with his left, and his left hand threads through the spaces between her right hand's fingers.

'It makes me uneasy to think of you and Whis, I don't know why,' he tells her in a lighter tone, a tone closer to being whiny than dark.

Squeezing the hand in hers, she tells him, 'You have nothing to worry about.'

'It doesn't feel like it,' he mumbles with a little darkness.

'I promise you, Goku,' she gently rubs her face on his neck, 'you have nothing to worry about. Not concerning Whis anyway. Close the tap, please.'

It doesn't look like she will get to wash his hair tonight after all, she muses when Goku reaches his free hand to turn off the water. Maybe washing his hair would've relaxed him like it usually does after a long day's work, but now she realises that he only needed to have her close. When she has that alone time with her thoughts, she'll try to figure out why he's bothered by the idea of her being Whis' friend, but for now, she'll just be close to him like his soul is begging for her to be.

'And Monaka?' he curiously wonders, snuggling his back into her.

'Monaka?'

Where is this Monaka talk coming from? She understands Whis, because he found them together, but Monaka?

'The ideal man,' leaves his mouth somewhat sourly. 'A strong man with a job.'

Who in the world told him that, she wonders with an amused smile, who would take some light-hearted joke and turn it into something that it isn't?

'Honey,' she tries to keep a laugh from her voice, 'Oolong, the world's greatest coward is stronger than Monaka. He was just motivation that Beerus wanted to set for you.'

Turning his head sharply, he asks an excited, 'Really?'

Although he disrupted her position on his neck, she doesn't mind. In fact, she plants a soft kiss on his cheek to assure him, 'I want you, and only _you_.'

An even stronger man than Goku could show up, and he could have three jobs if he did, and still she wouldn't look at him. Her eyes and her heart, are only for the man that's sitting with her in this bathtub of theirs. If she were to wish for even the slightest change in Goku, that would be negating the man that she fell in love with in the first place. She loves him just the way he is, exactly the way he is; not more or less than what and who he is, because then he wouldn't be _her Goku._

'But you gave Whis your food to eat,' he says after the short silence.

Really, she thought that she'd appeased him somehow, but apparently they are back to the Whis issue again? Oh dear…

'I don't like to share you, Chi-Chi,' he tells her, his hand gripping hers much tighter than before. 'You're not Bulma that everyone has access to whenever they want.'

Wow, a gust like sensation strikes her stomach. He's never, not once in his life said that to her before, and so, she didn't know that he felt this way about her. Wow…

'You're mine alone, and I _don't_ want to share you!'

There's that absolute tinge in his tone again, she observes, still recovering from the sensation in her stomach. She appreciates the sentiment especially now that she knows this new thing, however, she feels like she does want a friend. Honestly speaking, she can't really call his friends her friends, so when she thinks about it, it would be nice to have a friend. For now, though, she only has to appease him, otherwise he will never sleep.

'But Goku,' she tries, 'you have plenty of friends, some of them women, but I never get jealous. Do you know why?'

Whether on purpose or not, he remains silent, not giving her an answer.

'Because I have your heart and I know that,' she decides to tell him despite his lack of response. 'I can't imagine the countless women you might have met, but I've always known that I have your heart in my hand. You should know that you have my heart too, Honey. There's no reason for you to be jealous.'

'Hmm,' he seems to be thinking about it, 'I don't know…'

Sometimes –and she adores this about him- her husband can really be a child that needs coddling and affection. Sometimes he gets home, and all he wants to do, is lie in her arms to his heart's content. The rest of the world could be on fire for all he knew at those times, and he wouldn't want to move even a decimal out of her affection until he's had his fill.

Right now, in this bathtub, it appears that they're in one of those needy times of his.

'Trust me, Goku,' she tells him in a half whisper. 'How many people can say that they're married to me? How many people can say that they've kissed me? And how many people can say that they've done this?' squeezing their intertwined hands between her front and his back under the water, she makes their hands touch her on a very vulnerable part of her body.

'Only me?' he sounds with glossy pride.

'Only you,' she agrees, loving that she stroked his ego so much like that.

The same applies for her, she spares a second to think. No matter how many women have seen him without a shirt on, and that cocky air he gets about him when he's fighting, and so lusted for him, none of them can say they've done anything other than see, let alone brag that they have his heart.

'I'm yours, Goku,' she purrs in his ear. 'Only yours.'

She hopes that puts his unease at rest, because like she told him, he really has no reason to be worried.

'Chi-Chi?' breaks through the quietly short silence.

'Hmm?'

'I love you,' he delivers, completely catching her off guard.

Drawing in a sharp breath, she feels her stomach churn in a good way, consequently filling her lungs with fresher air than before. Wow, he's just full of surprises today, isn't he?

'I love _you_ ,' she returns, completely beaming with said love for this husband of hers. 'Now come on, we need to get out of this water before we become pruny.'

'Only if you promise to cuddle in bed with me,' he bargains, his neediness resurfacing again.

Ha, cuddle! As if she'll believe that!

Yes, he does like to cuddle, and it usually starts off as cuddling, but then his hands always stray until suddenly, she finds herself biting down hard on whatever part of him that she can find, so that she doesn't scream loud enough for her sweet little Goten to hear her.

Cuddle her toes!

'I promise,' she agrees nonetheless, releasing his hand and standing from the tub, 'now come on.'

At least, she can promise to cuddle with him, because she has no intention of promising to not be Whis' friend, she reasons as she climbs out and then waits for him to do the same.

Goku gets up, however, he doesn't step out of the bathtub, instead, he gets a pensive look on his face

'I bet Whis wouldn't like it if I trained with Vados instead of him,' he mumbles darkly.

Again with Whis, just what will it take to get Whis out of his system tonight?

'Let it go, Honey,' she advises.

From the way he looks at her, a look resembling sulking on his face, she can tell that he's debating with himself on whether to do what she says not.

Apparently, he chooses not to listen to her, because he thoughtfully mutters, 'Maybe I _should_ ask Vados to train me.'

'Goku…' shakily leaves her mouth.

Really, this man can really be a petty child when he wants to be, she thinks. She can tell that a 'But,' similar to Goten's earlier, is on his tongue, but her serious expression is apparently stronger, because his eyes enlarge enough to make her see that he'll heed her words.

'Fine,' he accepts, but then he changes his way of looking at her, to a way that has her thinking that he is thinking of something.

She doesn't ask what is on his mind now, because she doesn't want to know just yet. Besides, she doesn't want to talk about Whis anymore. Whis isn't her husband, he is, and right now, she would just like to be his wife.

* * *

Chapter 9, **Everything Good.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9, **Everything Good.**

* * *

Her mornings, more or less _always_ look like this. Well, in all honesty every moment that she's home together with her spiky-haired boys, more or less _always_ looks like this. She swears, sometimes it feels like she has two sons, instead of a husband and a son, because when Goku decides that he wants to, he becomes a tall Goten to the very core. She doesn't mind, though, really, because seeing her boys happy, makes her happy, and that's all that matters to her. However, it isn't like her to just go about her work, without verbally noticing and getting involved in what they do.

This morning, for example, Goku and Goten are having an airplane race, to see who can fly their plane the fastest, and if she remains quiet, none of the two will stop their fooling around. She doesn't mind that Goten is only in his socks and underwear, standing on the table to be level with his father for their little game, what she minds is them carried away and giving her more work.

She usually doesn't let Goten eat with his clothes on, because in the mornings, with his father, he gets up to all sorts of mischief and easily gets dirty. Goku, on the other hand, just likes to parade around in his underwear in the mornings, because before and after breakfast, he does a few small exercises –that usually interfere with her ability to move around the kitchen with ease. She really doesn't mind them being like that

'Goten,' she lovingly calls his name, following it with a soft warning, 'if you get even one crumb of bread in your hair, I'll give you a haircut.'

Even with her back to her boys, she just knows that that gets the little guy. She turns around from packing his lunch just in time to catch Goten tensing up, and immediately stop using his toast as an airplane racing against Goku's toast airplane.

'That goes for you too, Goku,' she warns after seeing that the warning didn't have the same effect on her husband.

Goku, just like Goten, stops his airplane midair and sharply turns to her. Evidently, her warning to him did the trick.

'I don't want a haircut,' Goten protests with an upturned lip and eyebrows drawn together. 'I like my hair, it's cool just like Dad's.'

'Well,' she starts, doing her best to not smile at the expression on her husband's face, 'you better make sure that nothing gets stuck in your hair then.'

'No fair, Hon,' Goku complains, dropping the hand with the toast.

She swears, if Goku could look more adorable than when he pulls a Goten-feeling-snubbed face, it's now. Her heart simply melts at the sight of his looking so innocently offended yet defeated at exactly the same time, that she almost wishes to tell him to carry on with their little game, just so that she can repeat the same warning to him and have him react in the exact same way as now.

'Yeah,' Goten looks at his father, 'no fair, Mom! We wanna play.'

Of course, they want to play, they always want to mess around in the mornings. After they more or less finish eating their breakfast, they always want to play, and sometimes, it's with the food. This is something that she's used to, but as the woman in the house, she has to exercise proper control, because if she left it up to Goku, well…

'No,' is her stern reply as she turns back to finish the lunches that she'd been packing. 'Both of you need to get dressed.'

'But I wanna finish eating,' Goten says in a long whine.

Honestly, an appreciative smile spreads on her face, whatever will she do with her boys?

'You're impossible,' she says to Goten. 'You can finish eating then, okay?'

She knows as well as Goten does, that he really doesn't want to eat, because if he did want to eat, he would've been doing it, instead of saying that he wants to do. But again, she doesn't mind him pretending that he'd like to eat, just so that he can spend more time at the table, because times like now, are typically normal for the three of them.

'Dad, make _me_ an airplane,' she hears Goten say.

Really, she continues to think, in the mornings especially, those two have _too_ much energy. Maybe it's their Saiyan blood, or the food that provides for their endless morning energy, but they always have energy enough to bring the house down.

Choosing to let have their fun for a few minutes while she finishes up, she concentrates on wrapping up Goten's lunch box, only to feel a gust of wind behind her. When she tries to turn to see what's going on, she finds Goku's eager face and eyes looking at her on her left, his one arm raised next to her neck. She doesn't need to look up, to see that he's got Goten balanced in his hand in the air, hovering there as a pretend airplane.

Lovingly so, she sighs, oh, these boys of hers.

'Make up your minds,' she tells them, but looking into Goku's eyes, 'you either eat or you play. But since you have energy enough to play, it means that you're not going to eat anymore, so go on, Goten, get dressed.'

'And Dad?' her son asks from the air. 'He can't take me to school in his underwear.'

'I'll get dressed too, Goten,' Goku immediately answers, still looking only at her. 'But I want to play with your mom a little bit first.'

'Okay,' Goten happily replies, not in the least surprised at what Goku said.

She thinks that if one day Goten were to _not see_ her and Goku being physically interactive, then that would make him confused. To him, his parents 'playing' -which really just means the two of them being cutely interactive- is the most normal thing in the world.

'No flying in the house!' she instructs after him, knowing that he took off flying as soon as Goku let go of him.

The amount of things she has to _repeat_ to her boys, is incredible. It's like they hear her one second and then forget all about it the next, making her have to repeat the same thing the next day. She's almost certain that Goten didn't listen to her anyway, but instead of focusing on that, she fixes all of her attention on the man with his eyes connected with hers.

'Play with me?' she raises an eyebrow.

'You interrupted my game with Goten,' he coyly replies, 'so I think I'll make _you_ the airplane now.'

She heard him, she even noted the playfulness in his tone, but she didn't prepare herself enough to realise that he'll actually use both of his hands to lift her off her feet, and raise her up in the air. Only when she finds herself being swayed from side to side, does she catch her mind up with all that happened just now. Unable to keep a giggle from sounding, she brings her hand to rest on Goku's forearms.

'Goku,' she says between giggles, 'I'm not an airplane, let me down.'

Surprisingly, he does begin to let her down, but he does it in a way that she lands with her feet atop his, and her front pressing into his. This also surprises her, because she thought that he would tease her first before letting her down, and even when he did let her down, he'd place her on her feet on the ground, not flush into him.

'Oh, Goku,' she sighs out contently, mentally admiring him too.

'Oh, Chi-Chi,' he mimics, adding a warm smile that causes the pattern of her heart to abruptly change.

Admiring him is not enough, she realises in the moment, not when his smile is that of a man communicating something to a woman, than a boy being playful.

With a smile on her face, she uses her left hand to push the front ends of his hair away from his forehead affectionately. At the gentle contact, Goku closes his eyes to take in the moment, and that's all the go ahead that she needs to press the tips of her fingers over his forehead and the then lightly stroke it.

She can only wonder what he's thinking about with his eyes closed like that. Well, whatever it is, she hopes that it's about her. She always has to take advantage of the small moments that they get, because she never knows when he'll suddenly decide to take off. In the heat of the moment, Goku never really thinks of saying a proper goodbye to her, and she's long ago learned to accept that, so for that reason, whatever small moment that she has with him, especially in the mornings, she always takes full use of.

Her hand nearly strays to lock itself into his hair, but she catches herself just in time to prevent herself from going further. She feels unsatisfied cutting their small moment short like this, but the reality of the situation is that Goku has to transmit Goten to the coffee shop close to the school, and then continue to walk him all the way to the school gate, before going to their farming land. So instead of using her hand for intimate contact, she uses her index finger to playfully poke his naked chest.

'You should get dressed too, mister. I need to finish packing your mid-morning snacks and Goten's lunch anyway.'

Goku abruptly snaps his eyes open as though something disturbed him to react that way.

'You don't need to pack snacks for me, Hon,' he tells her. 'I'm coming home later.'

'For what?' she wonders with caution.

A sudden scary thought that he's going to leave again, crosses her mind. She should've expected it, she should've been prepared to hear him say that he's going off to some place again. He is Goku after all, and she knows this about him, but it still makes her heart heavy to think that he _may_ be leaving for only he knows how long.

First giggling, almost as if to say that she's asking a silly question, he answers, 'For my mid-morning snacks.'

An uninvited light, a light so exhilarating, bursts to life from what seems like the very end of her stomach, all the way up to her face, for what Goku just revealed to her. She all of a sudden feels like her body just lit up with every colour in the rainbow.

The thing is, on the occasions that Goku decides that he wants to come home to eat, he also makes time for the two of them to just spend that alone time with each other afterwards. Most of the time when it's just the two of them, she likes to give him massages, just so that she has an excuse to touch his amazing body. At other times, they just sit side by side, and talk about things that matter and things that don't. Sometimes, they just sit in silence, with their hands holding each other's, but it's in those moments that they wordlessly declare their love for each other, simply by being with each other.

'Really?' she blinks at him expectantly, impatiently itching to hear him confirm it.

Nodding, Goku replies with a clear, 'Yep.'

Oh, she internally rejoices, she doesn't know what's gotten into her husband that he's decided to come home for snacks instead of taking them with him, however, whatever it is, she's just grateful that he'll be coming home to her for that one hour and a half.

'Okay, well, I guess in that case,' she says, really attempting to cover up her happiness, so that it's not so obvious, 'I'll have to leave your goodbye for later when you return,' she teases him.

As soon as the last word leaves her mouth, Goku puts on the most wounded frown that she's ever seen on him.

' _No_ ,' he pulls the word, 'I want my goodbye now.'

To show that he means what he's saying, he closes his eyes, simultaneously puckers his lips, and then pushes them towards her. Although it's endearing to see him that way, and expectant of single kiss goodbye, she suddenly feels like being mischievous, and so ducks her head down, to kiss his chest instead. At the kiss, he opens his eyes.

'Not there,' he complains with a pout, opening his eyes too. 'Here,' he points his finger to his lips.

Oh, how she loves him like this. It's amazing how serious he can be, while being innocently cute about it. How does he just be that amazing? Ah, her Goku…

'You're such a big goof,' she fondly comments, reaching her hands out to either side of his face.

He's the world's biggest goof, and she loves him with everything that she has. Maybe she even loves him with what she doesn't have. With the way she loves him, it wouldn't be impossible to love him to an extent that even _she's_ not aware of.

She digs the tips of her fingers into his cheeks, the way that he likes her to do, before carefully leaning her face towards his, to place a short soft kiss on his lips.

'There,' she pulls back. 'Happy now?'

Without giving her a verbal answer, Goku presses his forehead to hers, and then nuzzles his nose to hers, while his arms pull her closer to him. She could stay like this forever, Chi-Chi embraces this moment with her heart. If the world wasn't a reality and real life didn't constantly and hungrily demand endless attention, she would stay in this moment forever, until ever. In the secure arms of the man that she loves, she would stay until ever.

'Now I am,' he whispers as he pulls back, startling her a little, because in her head, they were going to stay like that for a little longer. 'I'll get dressed, and then I'll see you later.'

'I'll be waiting,' she assures him, reluctantly removing her hands from his face.

Giving her one last manly smile, he eases her out of his arms and then begins to leave for their bedroom.

Ah, she lets out a happy sigh, mornings with her boys, more or less always go something like this, and yes, they represent all that's good in her life. She can't wait for him to come back later today. It'll be so wonderful to have him with her, she thinks as she watches him walk out of the kitchen.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

The knock on the door, not only surprises her, it also makes her abruptly stop moving her body in the way that she'd been doing. In stopping, she takes a quick look at the reliable clock on the wall, to confirm that her hour hasn't come to an end yet, because she swears that she just started this ten minute ago.

A second knock follows the first knock, and this time, she adds a confused frown on her still figure.

She doesn't understand, this very hour, is the only glorious time that she has completely all to herself. This is the only hour in the day, with no risk of being interrupted; not by Goku, not by Goten, not by Gohan, not by her father, and not by Piccolo. She long ago found this perfect hour, when all of her loved ones are busy, and she has time to look after herself and her body.

Who could be knocking at the door at _this_ hour specifically? Goku said he would come home for snacks, but he usually just appears where she is.

Except… a thought rises in her head as her eyes move from the clock to the door, with Goku's sudden interest to come home and snack here instead of doing it in the field, she won't be surprised that it's him at the door. Actually, she suddenly convinces her mind that it can _only_ be her husband at the door, probably aiming to surprise her and sweep her off her feet at the same time.

With this new conviction, she adjusts his weighted wristbands on her wrists, and then undoes her training ponytail, to allow her hair to run free for her husband, pushing her hair tie onto her wrist. Goku always loves to see her with her hair down, so she wants to surprise him too. When she opens that door, she won't be the only one surprised by his early presence.

First, she wipes the secret smile off her face, and then only goes to open the door. In her head, she's already anticipating the look on his face, when she pulls back the door to reveal herself in her training attire; a grey tank top, matching grey knee-length tights and a spare pair of his weighted boots on her feet.

As soon as the door is out of the way, though, real, unrehearsed surprise steals her breath for an extended second, before she's fully able to blink and then only talk.

'Whis?' unstably comes out of her mouth.

It's not that she's afraid of him being here, it's just that well, she didn't think that she would see him anytime soon. As an angel, he must have a thousand and two universal things to worry about, and she really just didn't think that she would see him again so soon.

'Good morning, Chi-Chi,' the angel replies with a brilliant smile.

From that smile alone, she can conclude that he's quite happy to be here, and possibly delighted that his presence brought out such a reaction from her.

'Morning,' she smiles back at him. 'I didn't expect to see you so soon.'

Between Goku apparently going to see him, and him being an angel, she didn't think that he would come by so soon. Unless, she begins to think, Lord Beerus sent him to come for Goku again.

'Oh!' a minimal frown draws on his blue face. 'I hope it's not a bad time,' he says apologetically.

'Well,' she breathes out, 'you cut into the only hour that I have to train during the day, but I don't mind. It's good to see you again.'

She means it. Her surprise aside, she's quite glad to see him. It was just yesterday that they met and sat together, but to her, it feels like a while since she saw him last.

'You train too?' he wants to know, curious wonder lighting up his face.

If she didn't already decide that she likes him yesterday, she would've done it now, because his expression, his curiosity, is so much leaning towards the curiosity that she's come to expect from her two spiky-haired boys. She wonders, is Whis one of those rare people that have childlike innocence and wonder when it comes to something that they want to find out about, because if that is the case, it will make a whole lot of sense why she's effortlessly drawn to like him.

'Come in, please,' she beckons for him to enter. 'And yes, I do. With the family I have, I have to keep up with them, especially Goku.'

Of course, it's only a known fact in her house, by her boys that she trains for an hour each day. No one else knows this about her, and she would like to keep it that way. However, with Whis, she doesn't feel the need to be reserved.

'Hmm, I had no idea,' Whis seems to ponder as he comes to stand two steps away from her. 'In that case, do you mind if I simply observe you train? I'm quite intrigued by the idea of you training. I never would've thought it of you.'

That's an odd request, she tells herself, she would've thought that he would brush it aside like it doesn't matter. Except, here he is, sounding genuinely interested to see her train. Hmm…

'Well, I used to be a martial artist too,' she shyly confesses, mostly prompted by this keen interest, 'and besides, there's more to being Goku's wife than just making food and looking after his children, but I've never spoken about that to anyone.'

She's never spoke to anyone about it, because she never had a reason to. Goku's friends seem to have it in their heads that they know him through and through, so she really couldn't be bothered with telling them about behind the scenes.

'Now I'm all curious!' Whis exclaims after sucking in a happy breath and clenching his hands together to emphasise his said curiosity. 'Please tell me all, Chi-Chi! You've intrigued me even more. Goku always presents to be a very simple man, satisfied by the simplest of things, but you make it sound as though he is more than that.'

She's heard that one before. Countless times in fact.

'He does look simple, doesn't he?' she asks with a smile. 'But the truth is, at home, he's a very picky and precise man.'

She still remembers the day Goku came home telling her that Bulma has sagged breasts. Of course, she's never had that problem, because she learned fast enough, that infant Gohan's appetite couldn't be satisfied by breast milk. She breastfed Gohan once, and never went to repeat it again. If only Bulma had taken her advice on not breastfeeding Trunks, to develop a closer connection with him like she read in the parental guides.

'And jealous too, apparently,' Whis chuckles like the idea tickles him.

'You noticed?'

'My dear, Chi-Chi,' Whis heartily laughs, 'he's not making it a secret. And for that matter, neither is Lord Beerus. Oh, you should've seen the pair of them yesterday. They upset me quite a bit, to be honest.'

Lord Beerus too? That's surprising news to her. While they did briefly agree that they more or less have similar strong males in their lives, she never would've expected that Lord Beerus himself would be jealous of her and Whis.

'Hmm,' she thoughtfully lets out, 'I guess the two really are alike.'

Shaking his head, Whis replies, 'Not quite. Lord Beerus is extremely petty. As the destruction god, he needs any small reason to destroy things. But yes, Lord Beerus does have a selfishly possessive tendency, and naturally, what he considers his, is his alone.'

Although Whis explained all that with a straight face, she clearly heard the itching anticipation in his voice, and if she were to name it, she would call it excitement.

'You seem excited by his jealousy,' she observes rather than asks.

A smile intricately woven with the very material that makes up excitement, appears on the blue angel's face as his eyes look into hers.

'Can I be honest?' he asks.

Of course, he can, she nods for him to be that. She wouldn't like it if he only says things to please her, because that's not she wants from him. If there's something that she wants from him, is his honesty, no matter how bad it may be. She doesn't fully understand why, but she feels in her heart that she wants that open honesty from him.

'When you're me,' he starts, 'and you're prone to the same pattern day after day, a little change is most welcome. I suppose that is why since I met Goku, I act as though I don't know more than I do.'

He stops talking to show her another smile, the only difference with this recent one being, that it seems more experimental than certain.

'There's refreshment in observing reactions, when I already know the answer,' Whis picks up in the same even tone from before. 'So, yes, Lord Beerus' jealousy is sure to make things interesting for me.'

Hearing that, Chi-Chi feels like jumping up and down, to express her gladness for having a somewhat kindred feeling with Whis.

'I knew there was I reason that I liked you just like that,' she settles on instead of expressing her feelings physically. 'I feel the same way about Goku's jealousy. I mean, I feel bad that he has to go through it, because he can be such a child when he chooses to be, but it's a side of him that I've never seen, and it excites me to poke.'

It's like she suddenly has this amazing rush of adrenaline inside her, that's waiting to be released. She didn't know talking about her feelings like this, especially such a topic as her husband's jealousy, would make her feel excited. Only now, she can fully appreciate the excitement that she heard in Whis' voice a few minutes ago, because she is going through it right now.

'You know,' she continues, 'Goku asked me to promise that I'll not be friends with you.'

A burst of laughter fills the space between them, and even though she didn't plan on it, Chi-Chi is infected by the laughter, to smile widely. Wow, she really didn't think that discussing this jealousy thing with someone, would make her feel like this.

'Only that?' Whis asks as his laughter dies down, but two bright twinkles remain in his eyes. 'He told me to stay away from you. I believe that he was quite serious.'

He too, she notes, must find it a special sort of euphoric to talk about this subject. Maybe, he hasn't had to deal with jealousy before either, and possibly, it's a good sort of journey for him, just like it is for her.

'I can't really blame him,' she tells him soberly, losing her smile. 'My Goku is something special, and he knows that. He also knows that everyone is exposed to him, but I'm the one part of his life that's not exposed to anyone.'

In the beginning, she couldn't exactly make the connection between Goku's jealousy and her, but after laying awake after he'd drifted off to sleep last night, she started thinking and trying to put everything into place, so that she can understand the root of his jealousy. In the end, putting everything that she knows about him, it wasn't hard to conclude the root of jealousy.

'Well, in any case,' Whis waves a careless hand, 'I told them that they can't stop me from being your friend. That doesn't bother you, does it?'

From sounding unbothered about Goku's reasons, to him ending with a testing question set for her approval, Chi-Chi can't make up her mind what to think of Whis at the specific moment. Nonetheless, she has to give him an answer. Later on, she can decide if how she feels about Whis seemingly disregarding her husband's reasons for being jealous.

'No,' she gives him the answer he was waiting to hear, 'but do you know, he's thinking of training with Vados?'

Whis pulls his face back in evident surprise, 'My sister?'

This time, she gives him a small nod of confirmation instead of a verbal answer. It's not necessarily that she doesn't want to talk, rather, it's that she'd like to carefully observe his face for his feelings. One thing has nothing to do with the other, she knows, but she still feels like saying even one syllable less, will help sharpen her detection senses.

She carefully watches as Whis places a nail-polished finger on his chin, and a faraway look appears on his face. He doesn't look bothered by the news, she observes, neither does he present to be even the slightest of jealous. All that she can read from his expression, is that he is deep in thought.

'Oh dear…' he finally starts a little absently. 'Well, I suppose that if he can stand Bulma, he'll be able to endure my sister.'

He says 'stand', as though to imply that Bulma is an unpleasant person, who needs all the patience that a person has. She wouldn't exactly say that Bulma's an unpleasant person, a few other things, yes, but not unpleasant.

'Vados looks pleasant,' she comments, choosing not to defend Bulma just yet.

'No,' Whis instantly replies quite sternly. 'My sister is blunt. She doesn't mince her words, her actions or her reflexes. I suppose that she gets that from our father. I mean, yes, she puts on a pleasant smile, but she's more…' he trails off to look at blank space, before picking up again. 'How should I say this? Let me just say that if Lord Beerus had received her for a servant, this entire universe would've vanished from existence a long time ago.'

She's really that bad, Chi-Chi wonders, and Goku is thinking of training with her? No, she has to make sure that Vados is really someone to be 'endured.'

'But,' she tries, 'it didn't seem like that with the other god. What's his name? Lord Champa?'

From what she saw at the Tournament, it didn't seem like Vados was a chaotic angel who doesn't care about the consequences of her actions. Neither did she seem that way at the baseball game.

'Well, no,' Whis gives off a small smile. 'You see, Lord Champa is the softer opposite of Beerus, and I'm the nicer opposite of Vados. Vados is a fraction like Bulma, she cares about herself above everything else, and as an angel, it's within her rights to be that way, just as long as she exercises control over the god of destruction.'

'I didn't know all this,' she digests the information.

Maybe if Goku ever brings up Vados again, she'll be able to share this information with him. She highly doubts that it will make a difference to him, if he really has his mind set on training with Vados, but sharing information with him, is something that she's always done, whether good or bad, and this won't be any different.

'But dear, Chi-Chi,' he brings her out of her thoughts, 'don't get the wrong idea about my sister. She is my sister, after all. I really do adore her, and she loves me just the same.'

'In that case,' she resigns, 'I hope his training with Vados goes well.'

That's if Goku decides to go and train with Vados. She wouldn't think of stopping him from training with whoever he chooses, because training under different masters, is what distinguishes him from all other martial artists.

'One thing is for sure, though,' Whis nods, 'and that's Lord Beerus' disapproval at his top fighter training with Lord Champa. Not only that, but also his top fighters' wife stealing the attention of his servant away. Oh my, Lord Beerus will be seething,' he completes with a full-bodied laugh.

Once again, Chi-Chi finds herself infected to smile along with Whis. He really just has a peculiarly wonderful way of laughing, that's unapologetically infectious. Or that may just be because she likes him.

'And that just excites you, doesn't it?' she asks, her smile threatening to turn into a laugh.

If she's being honest, she's just as excited at the idea of Goku protectively being jealous over who she spends time with, as Whis is.

Looking her right in the eyes, enough to bare his emotions to her, he answers, 'Not nearly as much as having you for a friend.'

'You're sweet,' she evenly returns, meaning it sincerely.

She's quite surprised when Whis' response to that, is a darkly purple blush on both of his cheeks, before he clears his throat to ask, 'Uh, weren't you going to start training?'

Oh, right, she remembers, reality hitting her in the face. Only now, she realises that she didn't even offer Whis a seat or anything to drink. Apparently, she just fell right into talking to him, that she didn't realise anything else around her.

'Right,' comes out of her mouth with a little embarrassment. 'Um, my training, yes. Would you like to sit while I do?'

'No,' he shakes his head, 'I observe training better on my feet. Please, go ahead.'

As odd as it is to have him this interested in watching her train, she doesn't feel in the least intimidated or inadequate to show off her style to the man that's responsible for training hers husband. He obviously shouldn't even be giving her the time of day concerning their training, and yet, here he is, interested to see it, and that's what puts her at ease.

Not to waste any more time, she starts her formation, almost immediately beginning to throw punches in the air, when she feels a hand on her elbow. Reflexively, she jumps back away from the contact, sharply turning back to see why he'd touched her, to find a surprised look on Whis' face.

'I'm sorry,' she apologises. 'It's reflex.'

'I only wanted to show you a better way to have ample circulation in your arm,' he explains calmly, 'so that more pressure comes with the punches.'

Of course, she sniffs out a short muffled laugh.

'You sound just like Goku,' she lets him know, unable to keep the endearing tone from surfacing in her voice. 'That's why I jumped back, by the way. I refuse to train with Goku, because he gets distracted easily, and then distracts me too. I never allow him to touch me for longer than a second. Sometimes I just really want to train, but he ends up…'

Well, he gets distracted by her –as he likes to say- and her training goes south from there.

'Understood,' Whis nods, not even doing anything to conceal the knowing smile on his face.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

'That was fun,' Whis says an hour later. 'I can easily imagine your entire family being a strong team if you got in more than an hour's training each day.'

Exactly like she'd gotten caught up in talking to him without offering him a seat, she did the exact same with her training. She easily fell into her daily training routine, wearing Goku's weighted wristbands and boots –stuffed with socks in their fronts, for her to fit in. Whis did or said nothing to disturb her all through her training, which she is really grateful for. Now, here he is, praising her… He's something else this Whis.

'I doubt it,' she answers, allowing her body to fall to the ground into a seated position.

She mostly means that for herself, because as far as real actual crime-fighting strength is concerned, she wouldn't ever be able to measure up. Her husband and sons, yes, they'd easily be the strongest unit in the world universe, but not her.

'But thank you for saying that,' she smiles up at him, and then remembers about yesterday. 'Oh, how did the recipe turn out?'

First pulling a frown onto his features, Whis holds out his hand and his staff appears from thin air into his hand. One tap of the shiny globe on the staff on his hand, reveals the package that she gave him yesterday. He then bends down to hand her the package, however, the frown doesn't disappear from his face.

'Thanks to your Goku and my Lord Beerus,' he sourly lets out, 'I didn't get to find out. It's quite a shame.'

'I'm sorry,' apologetically leaves her mouth as she gathers herself up off the floor. 'I can give you another one if you'd like.'

Whis seems to be weighing her words for a minute and then finally says, 'Perhaps another time. In the meantime, I'd like to give you something.'

For the second time, he taps his staff on his hand and another thing appears in his hand. This second item, is much smaller than the package, and when Whis holds it out for her to take, she can only look at it apprehensively.

'What is it?'

It looks like a watch, but it could not be one. In this crazy world of Dragon Balls and Super Dragon Balls, nothing is impossible, neither is it outrages to think that looks are deceiving.

'I suppose in Earth terms, you can call it a phone,' the angel tells her. 'It's a direct communication link for angels. It's how I keep in touch with my parents and sister.'

'Oh, like a communicator?'

Both Bulma and Goku have a communicator that gets them in touch with Whis. This must be another model of that same thing, she thinks, her hand reaching out to take it.

'No,' he denies, 'this is a direct link. You'll never have to wait for me to pick up. One tap and I'm all ears.'

Oh, that's different. It makes her feel special.

Looking up at him, to make eye contact with him, she voices her gratitude for implying that she's different.

'Thank you, Whis.'

'Okay,' he waves away, moving his head from side to side. 'Just remember, purple is for Whis. Green is for Vados. Blue is for my father, Grand Priest, and all the rest, are for the other angels. Remind me to tell you about them one day.'

Other angels?

'The other angels are your siblings too?' she wants to know.

'Oh, no,' he laughs. 'Each chief angel will only ever have a pair of angel offspring, male and female. It's the way of angels. I'll tell you about it some day.'

'I'd love to hear about it,' she accepts his offer, 'one day.'

To think that just yesterday, they'd agreed to meet for the common reason of food, and now, food hasn't even made its way into any of their sentences. Life sure is strange sometimes. Now, here they are, making plans to meet to simply just talk.

'Oh,' Whis brings his hand over his mouth as though to stifle an unwanted sound from coming out, 'does this mean that we're agreed to meet again?'

'Of course,' she replies with a small frown.

Wasn't he just the one that gave her an angels cell phone? Does he really need more confirmation that they'll see each other again?

'You don't know the ways of friends, do you?'

'I'm afraid not,' is his confession. 'I'm pleasant to everyone that I come in contact with, however, that's due to my inherent nature. You have a lot to teach me then, dear Chi-Chi.'

'I'm no expert,' she lets him. 'I've never really had friends either, but I have an idea of how it's supposed to be like.'

They'll figure it along the way, she tells herself in her head. If they did just perfect today, without even forcing it, then there's plenty of hope of them making it.

'Eeeeee!' Whis closes his eyes during his squeal. 'How wonderful!' he joyfully cries, moving his body from side to side, clearly displaying his pleasure.

Chi-Chi can't help it _just_ like him. He's so himself and real; she likes that.

'Oh!' Whis continues to squeal. 'I like you, Chi-Chi, I really do.'

Just then, at that precise moment, with no warning whatsoever, Goku abruptly appears in the living room, right in front of them. She'd been in the process of starting to laugh at Whis' behaviour, but the stone expression on her husband's face, wipes all of the mirth from her inside, to replace it with concern.

'Goku?'

Beside her, Whis stops his celebrating to look at Goku. A long look at Goku, has his turning to his side, to look at her.

'He looks quite upset, doesn't he?' Whis notices.

'Upset…' she starts, her eyes solely on her husband, 'no. Whis, have you ever seen my husband angry?'

What she and Whis are looking at, is not an upset man. Upset Goku, she's seen, and he doesn't look a thing like this,

'I can't say that I have, not really, no,' Whis answers.

'Because that's not it either,' she completes. 'He looks absolutely primitive to me.'

Completely raw and Saiyan, is what she should really say to Whis for a better understanding, but primitive should give Whis an idea. Thinly set lips, eyebrows pulled together, and slightly sucked in cheeks, are the indication of side of Goku that even he doesn't like to bring out. From Goku's own narrations, when he gets like that, he doesn't talk, think to talk, or even waste time assessing the opponent, he only goes in for the attack.

It's amazing to see Goku get like _that_ , because and for her.

'In that case then, Chi-Chi, will you hold my staff?' Whis thrusts the staff her way, and then begins folding back his sleeves.

Just in the slightest, Chi-Chi wants to see how deeper of a degree Goku's expression can. It's probably wrong and tacky, yet, she really does want to see if he can blow up even more for her sake. Feeling torn, she looks from one man, to the other.

She almost thinks that she doesn't know who to root for (whether her husband who's sweeping her heart away with his attitude, or poor Whis who doesn't deserve hostility), when Goku makes a concentrated dash right for them.

* * *

Chapter 10, **Emotions.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10, **Emotions.**

* * *

In less than a split second, after making a dash in the direction of both his wife and his teacher, Goku appears right where he meant to. His blood is simmering as though showing the first signs of being ready to accommodate whatever else it can, and he still feels a lot of that crawling sensation all over his skin, but at least, he made it to where he was supposed to.

To his right, as he looks to confirm it with absolute certainty, is his wife tightly clutched to his side. And thankfully, the person that he wanted to disappear, the person that he wanted to get away from his wife, is no longer next to his wife, like he'd found when he first materialised in their house. Oh, the sheer rage that overtook him when he found that previous scene in his house… He would've easily jumped on Whis like an enraged animal!

In fact, he'd been highly tempted to. He really had been tempted to head straight for Whis, and then deliver a perfect punch, to get Whis to move away from his wife. However, in that quick moment of temptation, his reason came to him and he realised that one, Chi-Chi would _not_ appreciate a mess from a fight in their house, and two, he actually likes Whis and wouldn't like to get on his bad side. With the exception of his wife, of course. For his wife, (and this is a truth that no one truly knows) he'd set the world on fire just to watch it burn –if provoked that way, that is.

Fortunately, though, now that he's here, alone with his wife, he doesn't have to worry about any unpleasantness, and for that reason, he quickly rearranges his facial features to something more friendly and himself, to look directly at his wife.

'We're here,' he cheerfully says to her, adding a bright smile for effect.

She's looking back at him, but the way that her eyes are blinking, he can tell that she's not on the same page as him. if he had to take a guess, he would say with all that he has, that his wife is still stuck on the previous page with Whis. It's reason enough for him to gather that expression of rage from before, but, on the other hand, it's also an opportunity for him to stir her in his direction, and away from Whis.

He releases his hold from around her, only to settle both of his hands on either of her shoulders, and then slowly makes her to start slightly rotating.

'Look, Chi-Chi,' he tells her, 'we're in the coffee shop.'

In steering her by her shoulders, he wants her to look around, to see the light grey wall inside the coffee shop. He wants her to see the small round tables all around the shop, with their set chairs, neatly packed together, just waiting for willing customers to occupy them. He wants her to realise that they are in a different setting from their home, not only from seeing it, but also from hearing the soft instrumental music sounding in the air.

'Coffee shop?' he hears come from his wife.

From her tone, he imagines that she must like this place, because it's clean and ordered, and it has this clean smell about it, that their house always maintains. This may be her first time in the coffee place that he always tells her about, but it seems that it's already leaving its impression on her.

'Rwia's coffee shop,' he clarifies, finally turning her to face him again. 'He has some really good buns here, want one?'

Because he's told her about Rwia before, he doesn't wait for her to answer, he simply steers her to a table. He then pulls out a chair for her, setting her to sit at the table.

'I'm going to find Rwia, I'll be right back,' he tells her before leaving her by herself at the table.

Had the shop been buzzing with people, he would've gone to find Rwia with Chi-Chi at his side, but since there's no one else in the shop other than the two of them, he finds it all right to leave her there for a second or so.

From experience, he knows that the shop is busiest in the mornings until eight-thirty, and then only picks up to be busy again from eleven-thirty to three, when different groups of people are free from their respect jobs and responsibilities for an hour or so. For this hour, he doesn't feel threatened to leave his barely dressed wife all alone, while he goes to the back to find Rwia.

'Hey, Rwia' he calls as he heads straight past the counter to the back, 'are you back here? Can I have some more of those cream buns?'

'I swear, Goku,' comes Rwia's voice, 'you're going to force me into bankruptcy. Every morning, you and that son of yours ask for buns, and here you are again asking for more buns?'

It's just easier to wait for Rwia to appear, Goku tells himself, because if he goes looking for the shop owner, he might just get distracted by the things around him, and that cannot happen. Every second that he leaves Chi-Chi alone out there, could potentially mean possibly finding Whis sitting at the table with her. Of course, the probability of that actually happening, is very low, but still, he can't take any chances with that.

First giggling to partly agree with the bankruptcy part, Goku replies with, 'But your buns are really good,' as though that is a perfectly good reason to run the man into bankruptcy.

'I'll be right out,' Rwia promises without making his appearance, but that is enough to get Goku to return to Chi-Chi in an instant.

Carefully glancing around the shop after coming out from the back, he's glad to find that there's no one else but Chi-Chi in the shop.

'Rwia says he'll bring the buns,' he tells her as sits down across her.

Chi-Chi, for her part, doesn't reply like he expected her to, she only stares at him with an expression that he knows all too well; she's waiting for something from him, and until she decides that she's apparently not going to get it, she won't say anything to him.

It's in her silence, as he looks at her, hoping with all his heart that he looks as innocent as he means to, that he notices that her hair is down. Back at the house, he vaguely remembers seeing how she was dressed, and how her hair hung down her head just the way that he like it to be, and he remembers Whis handing his staff to her, but in the moment, he didn't give it as much importance as acting quickly, to get his wife away from his teacher.

Now, on the other hand, when he's succeeded in getting Chi-Chi away from Whis, those things that he didn't give importance to, are glaring obviously at him. And the worst part is, that he can't ignore their presence. Sure, he's _pretending_ to not see them, but his mind can _clearly_ see them, and his mind actively reminds him, that Whis _saw_ his wife exposed with no clothes like that, that Whis _saw_ his wife with her hair down like that, and that his wife, has Whis' staff in her hand, as if she's holding something important to her.

His mind is actively reminding him of all that, so in an attempt to shift his mind's focus, especially to keep his blood from boiling all over again for remembering those things, he says something else to Chi-Chi, something that she'll love to hear.

'You know,' he starts, shifting his eyes away from the obvious reminders on his wife, 'if we stay here long enough, we can pick up Goten from school.'

She'll love that, he tells himself, she'll love to pick up Goten from school with him, because she likes it when it's the three of them together.

'It would be a nice surprise to find his parents waiting at the gate for him, wouldn't it?' he continues with the same subject, hoping that she will stop giving that look and say something in reply instead.

It's then that he sees Rwia, the mildly older man with brown hair and round glasses over his eyes, appears from the back of the shop, bearing a tray in his hands. Goku can only smile when he sees the amount of buns loaded on the tray.

'There's Rwia with the buns,' he happily points to the approaching man.

In part, he's happy that the buns have arrived and he can finally eat them, and also, he's happy that with Rwia around, Chi-Chi might just be inclined to get on the same page as him, because he knows his wife, and because he knows her, he knows that she's still waiting for him to rewind to the very topic that he's pretending didn't happen. With Rwia's presence, his plan to redirect her thoughts, may just happen.

'Goku,' Rwia calls in a kind scolding manner, 'who's this?'

Goku likes the surprised look on Rwia's face, and he's never really felt like this, but he suddenly feels smug that Rwia is curious and astonished like he is. The way he's eyebrows are drawn together with astonishment for seeing Chi-Chi, is a look that he could see every day of his life.

'Chi-Chi,' he announces, possessively adding, ' _my wife_.'

'I see,' Rwia says thoughtfully as he places the tray on the table. 'Goten's mother, huh?'

'We have two sons,' Goku corrects him, not sounding the least bit apologetic, instead, he's gladly bragging about his family. 'Gohan's nineteen.'

Again, the increase in astonishment on Rwia's mildly older face, fills him with smugness, that he could feel for the rest of his days. While it is true that he's never felt like this, he won't deny how excellent it feels to have another man see Chi-Chi and marvel.

'Nice to meet you, Mr. Rwia,' Chi-Chi holds out her hand, smiling at Rwia as she does so. 'And thank you for the buns.'

Well, Goku silently notes, that's Rwia's cue to leave, and by the way Rwia seems to flinch at the contact of Chi-Chi's hands, Goku guesses that he must've have read his dismissal on her face too.

'My pleasure,' Rwia bows his head before turning on his heel and leaving the two of them.

Immediately seizing the moment, Goku starts with, 'He's nice, isn't he?'

It's important that he maintain any type of conversation that is related at all to why he brought her here, and his true intentions for being here. Except, when he really looks at her, waiting for her to answer, he finds that she's looking at him with an unbelieving expression.

Oh-oh, his mind sounds, but he quickly tries to cover it up, so that it doesn't show on his face.

'What?' he innocently asks.

He expected that she would continue to stare at him, without saying a word, but she doesn't. Before opening her mouth to speak, she uses one quick motion to tie her hair into a perfect bun and then leans her elbows on the table to be closer to him. Unfortunately, Whis' staff in her hand also follows her elbows, making it so that it's closer to him than he would like it to be. It takes a lot of energy to pretend that he can't see it.

'Are we really just going to pretend that you weren't ready to explode on Whis back at home?' sternly comes out of her mouth.

A scowl covers his face at the name Whis. He'd deliberately been avoiding _that_ subject. A part of him had been hoping that if he pretended long enough, Whis would disappear from her thoughts, but apparently not.

'Can't we?' he seriously wonders, making sure to avoid her eyes.

Can't they really just pretend that Whis never happened today? He knows he'd been ready to pretend that Whis didn't happen at all, so why can't she?

'No, we can't,' she answers as though issuing a command.

Chi-Chi being his wife, he knows when to avoid her eyes and when to look at her. This last answer, is a clear sign that she needs him to look at her, an indication that if he doesn't give her his visual attention within the second, he'll upset her.

'Chi-Chi…' he whines her name as he drags his eyes back to hers.

'Goku,' her head shakes to cut him off, 'I have the man's staff in my hand. He thought you were going to lash out at him, and so did I. You can't be all sweet all of a sudden, as if nothing happened.'

'But nothing _happened_ ,' he darkly mumbles, trying to affirm his pretending.

Had something happened, had he attacked Whis, then they could be talking about what he did, but he didn't do anything. All he did, was get her away from him, nothing else.

'Thankfully nothing happened,' she tells him, sounding softer and relieved. 'For a minute there, I didn't know what to do. I don't know what would've happened had you decided to hit Whis, Goku.'

'He would've beaten me up,' he answers plainly.

There's no doubt in his head about it, if he'd been as stupidly impulsive as to lash out at Whis, Whis would've _destroyed_ him without probably even moving his feet.

A look of concern falls on Chi-Chi's face, making her lean back in her chair to ask, 'And do you want to be beaten up?'

She sounds concerned for him, she really does, but it feels to him, like she's taking Whis' side on this one. It's not like he did nothing anyway, so why can't she just agree that nothing happened, and then they can go about having cream buns?

'I don't want him with you,' he cries, leaning his elbows on the table to be closer to her. 'I already told you. I told you I was coming home to be with you, because you like that, but then I found Whis there. I got furious, Chi-Chi!'

He doesn't even think that furious is the right for what he felt when he saw Whis in their living room. He was beyond fury and reason, and how he caught himself in time not to land a punch on his teacher, is something that he can really be proud of right now.

'And,' he adds, feeling his face twisting up with emotion, 'you promised that you wouldn't be friends with him.'

'I didn't do that,' she rebuts, placing the staff on the table to cross her arms, to show that she won't allow him to twist things.

Following her lead, he pulls his elbows off the table and then crosses his arms just like she did with her arms. And just like before, he uses more energy to pretend that he can't take notice of the object.

'You should've,' darkly comes out of his mouth.

If she wants to start getting upset, he can just easily start getting upset. In fact, he has more reason than her to be upset, because he literally did nothing wrong.

Rolling her eyes, Chi-Chi uncrosses her arms to push the tray of buns in front of him, while she says, 'You're acting like a child, Goku. Eat something, then maybe you'll be yourself again.'

That's it, he decides, he can't do this anymore. He accidentally caught sight of Whis' staff when she pushed the tray towards him, and he swears, his felt his skin grow hot. Not wanting to give the heated sensation a chance to grow, especially now that he's beginning to have a small argument with his wife, he pushes out of his chair, and then reaches for the staff.

'I'll be right back,' he tells her as he takes hold of it, concentrating on finding Whis' energy.

In the beginning, it hadn't been easy to pick Whis' energy out, and even now, if Whis is on their planet, locking in to his energy is difficult, but the fact that Whis is here on Earth, helps a lot. In less than five seconds of concentration, he finds Whis.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

Much to his displeasure, he finds Whis in the same place, in the same position, in his house. How he would've liked it if he'd found Whis somewhere else, other than his house. But no, he had to find his teacher in his living room, calmly talking into something on his wrist.

Because manners dictate that he waits for Whis to notice him, instead of interrupting his conversation –if indeed he is having a conversation- he pulls in a breath to keep himself calm while he waits for Whis to see him. However, just as Goku pulls in a breath, Whis catches sight of him, and a small smile spreads on his face.

'Oh, sis,' he smoothly says into his wrist, 'There's no need to locate my staff after all, it's right here in front of me.'

'Honestly,' comes as a reply from whatever is on Whis' wrist. 'All right, we'll talk later then.'

Goku would swear that sounded like Vados just now, and maybe it had been. All he knows is that he wants to give Whis his staff, so that he can be on his way to his planet. At least for the sake of peace between them.

'Bye,' Whis cheerily bids the other person, before smoothing his sleeve and giving Goku his full attention.

'I see you've brought my staff,' he says to Goku, 'thank you.'

'You're welcome,' Goku tightly replies.

He should probably move forwards to hand Whis his staff and politely ask him to leave, but something seems to be keeping him in place.

'And Chi-Chi?' Whis questions. 'Where is she?'

Maybe that's what had been keeping in place, Goku thinks as he feels his skin begin to reheat. Maybe he'd been waiting for an excuse to justify politely kicking his teacher out of his house. Even if that hadn't been the case, he's still thankful that Whis asked for his wife, because now he can easily walk to the door and hold it open for Whis, with the excuse of feeling triggered.

Only once he has the door properly drawn back to show Whis that it's time to go, does he answer him.

'She won't be back for a while,' he says, adding an insincere. 'I'm sorry.'

For the sake of manners and stupid courtesy (also for the fact that he likes Whis), he can't necessarily treat Whis badly. Not right this minute anyway.

Just like he waited to open the door to respond, Whis also first takes his time to walk to the door, and only once they are front to front, does Whis peer at him to ask, 'Are you, though?'

With the way Whis is searching his face, the air in the room all of a sudden feels thick and unbearable. Even with the open door, the air feels contaminated and heavy enough to make one faint. If Goku was an ordinary person, the gravity of the calculating ambiance alone, would've made him collapse to the ground like the first time he tried to move on King Kai's planet.

Whis is tough, super strong even, Goku silently acknowledges as they stare at each other with determined eyes. Whis could probably turn air to ice with his gaze if he wanted to, but Goku will not be made to back down, not when the issue here, is his wife. This silent war that they're having about Chi-Chi, is one that he will win, no matter what. Whis can threaten him to try and stop him from being friends all he wants, but in the end, he'll be the one who loses if he keeps insisting.

Thinking this, he begins to narrow his eyes to increase the intensity of his stare, when Whis' expression suddenly softens, and the firmly set skin around his eyes loosens.

'Well,' he starts in his usual voice as if nothing happened at all between them just now, 'in any case, I have to be leaving. Until next time, Goku.'

Taking his staff from Goku's hand, Whis shows Goku a small smile, one that has no malice whatsoever in it, one that is typically Whis, and then disappears into thin air.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

'What did you say to him?'

Is the first thing that his wife asks him when he returns to take a seat across her again. He should've expected that, but he didn't.

'Nothing,' he answers softly.

'Goku…'

'I said nothing to him,' he cries, 'not like last time anyway. And even if I did, you should be taking my side.'

Shaking her head, she tiredly sighs before she begins talking. 'Listen, Honey. I never go with to any of your fights or battles. Everyone else goes, but no one ever considers if I ever would like to be there, not even you.'

'But you can't go,' he quickly says. 'If you go, you'll overreact and think every time that I fall down, I'm going to die.'

'That's because I'm the only one who truly loses you when you die,' she just as quickly has a reply to his reason. 'You've died more than once before, so don't blame me if I'm constantly afraid that you'll die any time you are in battle.'

Although she has a very valid point, he can't allow her to get the idea in her head that she can come to his fights from now on. It's not that he doesn't want her to come to his fights, it's that she really worries about him, and seeing her that worried while he's fighting, will make him lose focus. Also, he generally doesn't like to see her worried, because it makes him feel helpless.

'But I only really died, because I made the choice to,' he says, trying his best to sound appeasing. 'It's not like I just let myself die.'

'Even so,' she returns, 'the point is that you die, and you're completely trying to change the subject right now. I was saying that I'm always the last one to find out about you turning Super Saiyan, or Super Saiyan two or even Super Saiyan pink.'

Super Saiyan pink?

Amused, he shows his wife a small smile to say, 'Hon, there's no such thing as Super Saiyan pink-'

'If there is,' she cuts him off, 'I'm sure you'll be the first to turn it, and everyone will be there to witness it, except me.'

There was a long note of longing in her voice, that she's never expressed to him before. Yes, they've spoken about his previous transformations, and how much she would've liked to be there, but she's never expressed it this way, this way of feeling excluded rather than absent.

He doesn't know how to pacify that feeling of hers, because it is true that one or a few of his friends are always there to witness his transformations, except her. He can't imagine how that must make her feel, and so, he doesn't know how to begin pacifying her about it.

But even so, even though he doesn't know where to begin, he has to try and say something that will make her feel less like that and more appeased.

'You were there when I became a Super Saiyan god,' he gently reminds her. 'You saw that transformation.'

Through a shaking head, she tells him, 'But that technically wasn't your power alone. Goku, listen to me, I'm trying to make a point.'

And they're back again, he inwardly sighs, tilting his head to the side. If he could avoid this conversation with her, he honestly would. Even if it meant entertaining Hercule's ridiculous publicity stunts.

'I don't want you to make your point,' he confesses. 'I have a feeling you're going to involve Whis, and I don't want to hear it.'

To prove to her that he really doesn't have any interest in listening to her talking on behalf of Whis, instead of taking her husband's side, he lays his arms on the table and crosses them to rest his forehead on them. When his forehead makes contact with his folded arms, he feels her soft hand touch his shoulder.

'You can't ignore the subject of Whis forever,' he hears her say.

'I can if I want to,' he mumbles to himself.

'Look at me, Goku,' she instructs, 'I'm just trying to say that there are a lot of things in your life that I'm not actively part of, even though I would like to be. I'm happy to just wait for you at home, really I am, and okay, I'm not like you, I don't need to have a mountain of friends. In fact, between my father, you, our sons and Piccolo, I don't need a friend. But Honey, I _do_ want a friend.'

At the last reveal, he lifts his head off his arms to look at her like she asked him to do.

'I'm your friend,' he claims his rightful title.

He's her friend, because they share things that no one else knows about. He's her friend, because he tells her things that no one else has ever heard, intimate and vulnerable thoughts and feelings, that would otherwise leave his friends shaking with fear, because they all depend on him too much. He's her friend!

'You're my best friend,' she agrees with a small nod and smile. 'But the truth is, you're not always here. I want for once, to just talk to someone or share ice-cream with. You know, when Goten's not at school, he's with you in the field, or with Trunks when you're not here, so I can't even share ice-cream with _him_.'

That's true, he finds himself thinking, Goten does tend to spend a lot of time away from home. The little guy loves his mother to bits, but he also does like to spend time with Gohan and him as often as he can. Goku suspects that has something to do with the fact that they are not as available for him as Chi-Chi always is.

'I really don't need a friend, Goku,' she breathes like she's tired, 'but I do _want_ one. If you tell me that it makes you uncomfortable, if you really don't want Whis to be my friend, then okay,' she finishes, her eyes silently begging him to understand.

With her eyes like that, he starts to pout, she's not being fair to him. She can't just be selfish, ready to give up what _she_ wants, and then expect him to be selfish enough to keep her from having a friend too. It's clear that she expects him to say no, instead of being selfless and giving her permission to be friends with Whis. She's really not being fair, because she knows that he's not a selfish guy.

'You can have a friend,' he soothes, even reaching for her hand and holding it. 'Why does it have to be Whis?'

'Because I like him.'

There is no way around this, is there? He's really trapped, isn't he? He can't say no to her request, but on the other hand, if he says yes, he has to think of a plan to make Whis stay away from his wife.

What plan would that require exactly?

Would that mean training all around the clock with Whis, so that Whis never got the opportunity to see Chi-Chi? No, he answers himself, training like that would mean that he will never get to come home.

Then what? Would it mean that he spends the time that his wife wants to spend with Whis? Can he withstand shopping with her–even for food?

But wait, he tries to reason, Bulma is his friend, and he never does shopping with her. Maybe if he lets Chi and Whis be friends…

No, he frowns, just no. Chi-Chi and Whis cannot be friends.

'Don't you like anyone else?' he questions. 'Like Yamcha or Tien… or anyone really. They can be your friends.'

For an answer, she just looks at him. No smile, no expectant expression, no begging eyes, no eyes. She simply just looks at him, and from that, he just knows that his heart cannot refuse something that his wife wants. After all, his wife is his heart, and if his heart wants what it wants…

'Fine,' he forces out of his mouth, 'but I'm doing this for you only. Not Whis.'

He's agreeing to let her be friends to her face, when in reality, he's starting to wonder of a plan that will keep him on good terms with Whis, while keeping him away from his wife. He'll probably have to use Bulma and Piccolo's help, but he'll have to pull it off somehow.

* * *

Chapter 11, **Fallback.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11, **Fallback.**

* * *

He needs to blink.

To clear his sight to accept what's not in front of him anymore, to clear his senses, so that they return to 'normal' mode, and to clear his mind of his previous thoughts, Whis feels like he _needs_ to blink.

He simply, for his own good, needs to blink, and so he does.

He blinks once. Slowly so, keeping his eyelids pressed together for a fraction longer than he normally would. And then he blinks a second time. After slowly opening his eyes, to see if the first blink did what it was supposed to, to find that it in fact didn't, he blinks a second time.

This second blink, he takes more care of, because he doesn't want a repeat of the last blink, where nothing about his senses and being stuck in thoughts from seconds ago, changed. With this second blink, he's going to compose himself like he should, and get himself to the point where he needs to be.

All right, one second, he thought, he _actually_ believed that Goku would charge for him to start a fight, and he _duly_ prepared himself to engage in a real _uninhibited_ fight, and then the next second, he finds himself all alone in the Son living room. However, that shouldn't stay stuck in his being, to the point where he feels paralysed even to bring himself to the actual present.

Seeing as he _knows_ what happened, because he saw it happen in seemingly slow motion, for his type of vision, he should effectively be able to put it behind with no trouble in any form. Only, he isn't really able to compose himself enough to effectively regain himself. It's that he'd been on the brink, _so close_ , that he even folded his sleeves back.

He had _not_ been expecting what happened to happen the _way_ that it did. For one thing, he'd been hoping to have a little fun with Goku, and for another, it looked too much like he was going to get to have a bit of fun with Goku, and so yes, the need to blink is pressing in his system, so that his system is rehabilitated to an earlier point in time, when it was just 'plain and normal.'

In the second that Chi-Chi told him about Goku being beyond furious, his mind already claimed this as the best day of his life for getting teased with the idea that he would get some good fun out of Goku. He even got little tingles of excitement running through him in that second, because that would've certainly highlighted the fact that he got to spend time with Chi-Chi, who has no actual and tangible need of him, but chose to entertain him honestly in any case.

Oh, he lets out a long breath, he really has to snap out from that particular moment, because it's no more. That moment isn't lingering anywhere inside the living room, but in his mind only. He has to let it go… as he's had to do so many things in his lifetime. Ah, the struggling burdens of being an angel…

Encouraged by the last thought, he easily accepts to let go of what never happened, allowing the blink that he is still holding to wash over his sight, senses and thoughts, in order for him to return to the normal angel that he usually is; genuinely unaffected in the core and lamentably unexpectant in expectation.

Clearly, he lets out a disappointed sigh nonetheless, he's not going to get anything _that_ fun today. He'll have to accept that his day with Chi-Chi is over, and that he has to return to his own home, to his _own version of Goku. That_ is the thought that he opens his eyes with.

'All right, Whis,' he softly says to himself, drawing himself up to a proper posture to indicate his new resolve to go ahead. 'It's quite clear that you have nothing left to do here.'

Any foolish person would be able to put together that Goku didn't want him to be anywhere near Chi-Chi, and since that is the case with his wife, it would be infinitely wise to assume that he has overstayed his welcome in the man's house. Even if that wasn't the case, the fact that he's not here with an actual member of the family in their own home, should be enough of a giveaway to leave.

'Except,' he comes to the quiet realisation, 'you don't have your staff, which means that you can't quite go home without it.'

The truth is, his power is not limited to his staff. He has powers that extend beyond his staff, but he doesn't like to go without his staff. No angel _should_ go without their staff, more for convenience and quick access to external factors, than its actual abilities. While yes, he does have perfect capability to manage without his staff, his staff does make things a lot easier for him.

'I suppose I'll have to call my sister now,' he says to himself again, already beginning to chuckle at the thought of his sister hearing his story.

His sister, will no doubt have a word and three others to say about his behaviour, as she always does when he calls in a favour from her. It's the natural way that she is, Vados. She says what she feels without holding back, and once she hears about how excited he'd been to finally engage in a fight that could probably help him stretch his muscles out a bit, she'll have her say whether he wants to hear it or not.

Oh, his dear sister, there isn't a thing about her that he would change, he fondly thinks as he lifts his hand just the slightest to touch his right index finger to touch the green button on the device on his exposed wrist, for the way he started folding his sleeves back a few moments ago.

At once, not even after he's fully lifted his finger off the button, a response in the form of a soft, yet a smidgeon high voice, sounds in the air.

'Whis?'

With a smile, he thinks that it's always wonderful to hear her voice. It must be something that comes with him being an angel, and all the somewhat restricting attachments that come with the job, but something about his older sister's voice being on the ready to hear him out at any given point, has always filled him with goosebumps.

'I need your help,' he confesses. 'Are you busy?'

Between them, no niceties and pleasantries are exactly necessary. She's his older sister, and they have an unspoken understanding, that even not being close to each other, they can communicate without words. Which is how by the sound of her chuckle on the other end, he knows without her saying so, that yes, she _is_ busy, but being busy will not impede her from helping him. His sister really doesn't bow down to anything. Poor Lord Champa, he has such a hard time with her.

'In that case,' he chooses to carry on, 'can you locate my staff for me?'

Even as he asked the question, he imagined her facial expression towards the question. That crestfallen look that she gets on her face, when she wants to sympathise and reprimand at the same time, is most probably the expression that his has sister on her face right now. That suspicion, is confirmed when a question from her reaches him.

' _What_ did you do?'

'Oh, nothing big,' he replies. 'It's only a small misunderstanding.'

On his part at least, he finds nothing of Goku's behaviour anything of consequence, or even significant enough to be called a ripple.

'I always say that you are too nice, Whis,' his sister sternly reproaches.

Of course, he tries his best to hold in an amused chuckle, he didn't expect any less from her. His sister, primarily for the reason that she's older than him, never does him the service of sparing him from reprimands. She secondarily does it out of sheer protection as well, so that she takes care of him as she ought to; he's always found that touching.

'I swear, Sis, I'm not in a jam,' he fluidly tells her, to assure her that she has nothing to worry about.

The truth is, even if he was stuck in a jam (which wouldn't really be jam, because he's Whis and that's enough for any situation to stop parading itself as a jam before dispersing to something less than air), he wouldn't mind it. It's like he told Chi-Chi, he looks for more excitement in his life, that he unfortunately doesn't get often.

A short hearty laugh from his sister brings him back to the conversation, out of the mild entertainment in his head.

'And even if you were,' she says, sounding all-knowing, 'you'd just delight in it, wouldn't you?'

For an answer, he emits his own chuckle. She's not the only one in the family that can chuckle her answers out.

'I thought so,' she seems to be affirming it more to herself. 'Just hold on while I find your staff.'

Well, he thinks, thank goodness for sisters, because he wouldn't have liked to locate his staff by himself, and then head over there to get it himself. He very well could've found his stick on his own, without the help of his sister, but out of respect for Goku's fury, and his possessiveness over his wife, -as he has every right to feel- he chose to involve his sister to help him out. Because his sister has her staff, she can easily transfer his staff back to him, but if he has to locate his staff, which is not in close range of him, he would have to directly _go_ to where it is, because summoning it from so far away, would be _impossible_.

'Don't I always say that you should toughen up a bit more?' she asks him.

'I know,' he agrees, moving his head from side to side. 'I know.'

'Honestly, Whis,' she insists, 'I mean it, you can't always give people what they want. You should try tricking them into believing what you want them to believe.'

Well, that would certainly be interesting, except, he is not like that. He may choose to withhold information and knowledge at certain times, but attempting to deceiving people, is not part of his makeup at all. He would never want to stop being who he is for any reason.

'That way, I'd be you, not me,' he plainly explains in a delayed response.

'I suppose,' his sister says through a small laugh, 'and _ah!_ I found your staff.'

Thank goodness, he breathes in his relief.

'Can you transfer it here to me?'

It's a rhetorical question, because he already knows that she can, and that she will, whether he sounds out the question or not.

'I _can_ ,' she answers, pulling the verb, 'but an explanation of why that woman has it, would be nice first. I've seen her before, haven't I?'

It's just like her to want an explanation first. This time, however, he is more than willing to give her one. At least concerning Chi-Chi.

'Chi-Chi,' cheerily comes out of his mouth. 'She's Goku's wife.'

That should give his sister a trigger into remembering where she could've seen Chi-Chi before. It's only that he's _really_ itching to get to the really important part. He feels like that now that introductions have been made, the part of the story that matters to him, is what he should announce to his sister.

Giving off the sound of thoughtfulness, his sister lets out, 'Hmm.'

That's it, he can't hold it in anymore; he just needs to, needs to burst it out to his sister already.

'She's also a friend of mine,' he announces with pride. 'What do you think of her?'

He just be pleased to the fullest if his sister gives him her approval. Seeing as he's never had a friend before, her approval means the world to him. Especially because it seems that certain people seem to be against the idea of him and Chi-Chi being friends. So far, he's counted Goku and Lord Beerus, but he also has the hunch that Bulma and Vegeta are not pleased with the idea of a friendship between him and Chi-Chi. A vote of support from his sister, will certainly even the odds for him, personally.

After a small pause on both of their ends, his being of waiting, and hers being of measuring Chi-Chi up, his sister finally lets him know that, 'Well, if she's married to _that_ man, she's impressive. Really Whis, how do you handle him?'

Who, Goku?

In his opinion, Goku has an unusual gift of only provoking two emotions in people; either someone can love Goku and get attached to him for being the person that he is, or someone can absolutely hate him for being the person that he is. With Goku, the way he's observed it, someone can never be on the fence or indifferent towards him. It's actually quite peculiar, but that is how it is concerning Goku. The part of handling him, however, is not even an issue, because compared to Lord Beerus, Goku is a base warming up exercise than the training session that Lord Beerus is.

'He's much easier than Lord Beerus,' he answers honestly, 'that's for sure. Which reminds me, he might come to you for training.'

All these thoughts of warming up exercises and training sessions, just put it at the forefront of his mind, what Chi-Chi told him.

'Is that so?' his sister asks thoughtfully.

He knows that tone, and because he knows that particular tone of hers, that he wants to know, 'What are you thinking, Vados?'

In a typical secretive-Vados manner, she lets out a sound that could be described by three different sounds, an elegant snort, a sophisticated chuckle and a quiet sigh. He's never been able to understand how she manages to do that, quite honestly. It's always been a wonder to him, how she can flawlessly combine three sounds together, while making them sound as classy and tasteful as they can possibly be.

'Oh!' suddenly leaves her mouth in surprise.

If she'd been going to tell him what her thoughts are on Goku wanting to train with her, she sure won't do it now. Something else has her attention apparently. He wonders what that something is.

'What?'

Sounding impressed, she tells him, 'I believe that _he's_ bringing your staff back to you.'

Oh! Now that's interesting. That's quite interesting indeed. He wasn't expecting that.

He wonders, will they have another unpleasant confrontation as the one from the previous day? He'd much rather not have to exchange masked threats with Goku, for Goku's own sake, and Chi-Chi's too.

Nonetheless, Goku's already transmitting himself to here, and he'll just have to find out what their coming face to face will produce. But at least for Goku's arrival, he'll have to pretend as though he just started to talk to Vados.

Precisely on time, Goku appears exactly in front of him. The first thing to stand out about him, is that he doesn't look as angry as he did some time back. If he's to be accurate about Goku's expression, he would have to say that Goku is doing his best to not appear bothered, to the point where he looks unwelcoming in his own home.

That's admirable about Goku, Whis takes a brief second to appreciate, at heart, he's not a mean person, and so he can never truly be mean without a valid cause to be. It makes him smile with genuine warmth that Goku is like that.

'Oh, sis,' he says to his sister while he looks at Goku. 'No need to locate my staff after all, it's right here in front of me.'

'Honestly,' his sister sounds out as though she is irritated. 'All right, we'll talk later.'

'Bye,' Whis happily bids her, and then uses his hand to cover his device with his purple shirt, before giving Goku all of his attention.

'I see you've brought my staff,' he acknowledges, adding a grateful, 'thank you.'

At least this way, with how Goku is the one who came to him, instead of him crossing boundaries and going to wherever Goku had been with Chi-Chi to retrieve his staff. He's quite thankful that he didn't have to do any of that, because it might have done more damage than good.

'You're welcome,' leaves Goku's mouth, only, it sounds forced.

Strange, he would've expected Goku to toss him his staff, and yet, he still has the staff in his hands, as though he is reluctant to hand it back to its rightful owner. Perhaps, he needs to say something in order for the handing over. Perhaps, Goku wants to make an exchange; a word about Chi-Chi to him, for his staff.

Well, Whis tells himself, if that's the case, he better speed this exchange along, so that he can get back home and forget this little bit of the day for a while, through Lord Beerus' tantrums.

'And Chi-Chi?' he asks only to provoke the assumed 'exchange' to happen. 'Where is she?'

Without a doubt, Goku feels triggered. The look on his face says it all. If his expression were writing, it would read, 'You have no business asking about my wife, when I clearly previously told you to stay away from her.' He supposes that in a sense, Goku is entitled to feel that way, to react that way, even to walk to the door as he's doing, to hold it open, however, Goku really shouldn't worry about him and Chi-Chi being friends.

'She won't be back for a while,' he answers, adding a flaccid, 'I'm sorry.'

In measured steps, Whis walks to the door, to leave as he is being silently asked to, but when he reaches Goku, he pauses to carefully peer at him.

'Are you, though?' he poses to the black haired man.

His, 'I'm sorry,' was much too mechanically spoken, lacking in all authenticity, for Whis to believe that he means it from the depths of his heart. Interestingly enough, Goku confirms the lack of sincerity in his apology, by merely staring at him, as though daring him to keep probing and see what he will get as a response.

 _Ah_ , this Goku.

'In any case,' Whis decides to resign on this matter, because if he keeps this up, he'll be tempted into thinking that he can have some physical fun with Goku again. 'I have to be leaving. Until next time, Goku.'

Because yes, there _will_ be a next time.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

He knew that he'd find Lord Beerus in some tone of restlessness when he got home, and that is exactly what greets him as he appears on their small and perfectly comfortable home. Not too far from where he suddenly appears, is Lord Beerus pacing at a fast pace.

Had his pacing pace been moderate or slow, Whis would've immediately known that the god is disturbed by something, and sitting to meditate wouldn't do the trick of relaxing him enough to stop being anxious, and rather think rationally about the possible options available to him. But with this fast speed, Whis knows exactly that Lord Beerus is restlessly impatient. With him, or rather, his absence up until now.

Oh well, Whis slightly shrugs to himself as he glides over to the god, he supposes that Lord Beerus' impatience couldn't be help.

'What's this?' he raises an eyebrow while looking at Lord Beerus coming to a stop. 'You? Exercising?'

Possibly knowing that Whis is only teasing him, as an attempt to relieve a dollop of his impatience, the god gives him a look of mild destruction, which almost immediately disappears off his face, to make way for a passive expression.

'I was thinking,' he says.

Hmm. That was not the answer that he had been expecting.

Knowing Lord Beerus the way that he does, he expected a hostile and yelled response, about how he's been gone for ages, and leaving him all alone.

Hmm, he wonders…

Narrowing his eyes with the same wonder that he feels, he provokingly asks, ' _Were you now_?

'Yes,' Lord Beerus growls his response as though he was just attacked without a cause. 'I was thinking about that fatso, Champa.'

 _And_ the lie makes it out of his mouth, Whis says in his head, knowing very well that, no, Lord Beerus had not been thinking about Lord Champa. Well, at least not in the way that's he's trying to pass it off. If he'd been thinking of his brother, it would've been some time before Whis even sat down with Chi-Chi on Earth, and it would've been for the sole purpose of using his brother as an excuse to give to his servant.

In a setting where Lord Beerus hadn't made it blatantly clear that he has a case of apparently incurable jealousy towards him and Chi-Chi spending time together, Whis would've been inclined to believe the concoction about Lord Champa. However, despite not believe his Lord, he should at least humour him.

'Lord Champa?' Whis quietly asks.

The god first folds his arms across his chest, and then pulls a frown to say, 'I don't trust him, and because I don't trust him, I think that he may be planning on picking up his training to try and reach my level of strength.'

 _And_ the next lie makes its way out his mouth, Whis continues to tally. Whis is curious, how many more lies will keep coming out of his Lord's mouth?

'Not according to my sister, he isn't,' Whis decides to counter him.

He only really wants to see how far Lord Beerus is willing to take this charade? At the moment, Lord Beerus is closely resembling Bulma. Bulma, as he's come to learn, can be direct when it suits her, but when she doesn't want to come across as a selfish person, she disguises what she wants with excuses and all other sorts of things.

Likewise, Lord Beerus, (at times, including now) instead of coming right out and saying what he wants, he's honestly inventing a lie, that will _not_ make him seem like he truly is and feels. Well, Whis would like to see how far this can go.

'Champa is my brother!' he outrages, throwing his hands in the air too. 'I know him better, and if I think that he's training, it's because he is!'

Well, on the subject of brother and brother, Whis _cannot_ disagree, nor interfere, _but_ he _can_ disagree with the lie that Lord Champa _has_ resumed his training. Lord Champa, just happens to be lazier than Lord Beerus, and even if that had somehow miraculously changed, his sister would've updated him with a list of complaints that she heard from Lord Champa as they began their training. But, he doesn't feel like arguing about that, so for now, he'll just have to let Lord Beerus have the last word.

'All right,' Whis shrugs, 'if you say so.'

'I do,' he nods, 'so you'll need to start training me at _once_.'

 _Ah, there it is_! That's the _entire_ point of this charade, and he's finally gotten to it. He always knew that sooner or later, they would get here, and so pushing himself to act the slightest surprised, Whis leans his head back to look at Lord Beerus from a further than before angle

'Excuse me?' Whis sounds out.

He swears, the way that Lord Beerus closes his eyes as though to find the strength that he doesn't have, anyone would believe that this is the hardest thing for him to say.

'You heard me,' the god says, sound tired. 'I will require constant training from this second onwards. I cannot allow my fatso twin to catch up with me.'

Hmm… Constant training he says?

'Constant training?' Whis asks for specific clarity on that.

He asks that through a laugh that is nothing close to being amused, and either his laugh or his question has the quick effect of Lord Beerus opening his eyes, but one of the two things does, because something brings him eye to eye with the god.

'Where is this coming from?' he poses to Lord Beerus. 'You can hardly stand to walk to the bathroom, and now you suddenly want to train constantly? You're being suspicious.'

'I'm not being suspicious!' Lord Beerus quickly retorts. 'I simply want you to train me again!'

Hmm. Is that so?

'No,' Whis evenly answers.

For his jealousy, Lord Beerus would invent such lies, to such an extent? Well, that is highly unfair. Over the years that he'd slept for decades at a time, Whis has always been alone, and now that he has found someone to be his friend, Lord Beerus is attempting to take that away from him? That is hardly fair in any manner, and until the god confesses with his mouth the reason for this invention, they will not agree with each other.

Lord Beerus' look of disbelief, speaks louder than his single syllable question, 'No?'

'Yes, no. I believe you are up to something,' Whis tells him, 'and until you tell me what it is that you are really after, I will not move my feet to train you.'

Lord Beerus' fallback, is blatantly _unjust_. That's the truth of the matter, and Whis will not stand for it, if Lord Beerus is going to be dishonest about it.

The god's ears suddenly bend at the tips to show just how enraged he is starting to get, and then he shouts, ' _You are my servant!_ ' to him.

And he has to do everything that he's told, is what doesn't leave the god's mouth, but the words are loud and clear in the air. Whis can hear them, and so can Lord Beerus.

'Exactly,' Whis argues just as strongly. 'I serve no one else.'

When he thought to see how far this would go, he didn't believe that it would lead to him beginning to get upset, just as he did yesterday. Not even Goku's _expressed_ anger had made him want to feel upset, but the difference between Goku and Lord Beerus, is that he expects some type of courtesy from the one that he's been serving all these years.

Lord Beerus is behaving as though any time that is spent away from the planet, with Chi-Chi particularly, is a moment where Whis is plotting to kill him and become the god of destruction. Really, the lack of freedom that the god is affording him concerning this _one_ topic of a friend, is enough to make him feel betrayed, and in feeling betrayed, he can pull out the rightful defence to get upset.

He doesn't like getting upset, to be honest, because in being upset, he resorts to using his strength. In situations where he feels himself getting too upset, he always makes an outlet for him to leave that particular scene, in order for him to cool down.

'Now,' Whis breathes out calmly as is per his nature, 'if you are done being dishonest and jealous, can I get you anything?'

Getting chores done, is a sort of therapy for him, that he quite enjoys, most especially when things are not going right. If Lord Beerus can hand him something to do, he'll be sure to let go of how upset he is beginning to feel, and he and the god will get back to regular terms.

'I want you to train me!' Lord Beerus continues to insist. 'If you don't, I'll be behind on my strength. Can you imagine _me_ , the god of destruction, weak and defeated?'

This Lord Beerus really, Whis lets out a small sigh.

'Lord Beerus,' he starts to remind the god, 'you know as well as I do, that by god and angel privileges, you will never be weak, not for as long as I am your servant.'

Clearly annoyed to be reminded of the truth, Lord Beerus mumbles something that Whis doesn't manage to catch.

'What was that?' he wants to know.

Lord Beerus looks at him in the eyes to give his response, 'I said, I want to start training again, and it's your _duty_ to serve me that way.'

'And _I_ said,' Whis clears in a stern voice, 'if _you_ are done being dishonest and jealous, tell me what I can get you.'

This is going on for far too long, and he's honestly starting to get bored with it. They've already established that Lord Beerus is only acting this way, as a way of trying to keep him from leaving the planet, even though Lord Beerus would never agree to that being the truth. And since they've already established the obvious, Whis would like to stop entertaining this any longer.

Again, Lord Beerus looks at him pensively, as though trying to see where the disconnection between them happened.

'You've never disobeyed me before,' he finally gets out of his mouth. 'It must be something you're picking up from new company.'

Whis, for his part, laughs. Well, no, he lets out a single laugh, that he hopes he doesn't let out a second time, because if he does, he'll be reluctantly forced to knock the god out. He really hopes that he doesn't let out a laugh like that for a second time.

'Lord Beerus, first of all,' he raises his index finger, 'I _do_ disobey you when I know your intentions are loathsome, and secondly,' he makes a second finger join his first, 'that 'new' company as you refer to her, has a name; Chi-Chi. I would prefer it if you used her name from now on. Now, one last time, if you done being dishonest and jealous, can I get you anything?'

'No,' the god quickly retorts, 'I'm not done being dishonest and jealous!'

'Oh!' Whis lightly exclaims. 'Well, carry on then,' he encourages, gesturing with his hand, 'but I'm afraid that I will not be your audience this time around. Excuse me, Lord Beerus,' he bids just before he vanishes on the spot.

* * *

Chapter 12, **Family.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12, **Family.**

* * *

She didn't agree with him at first, in fact, she didn't believe that they'd spend so long at the coffee shop, but one pleading look from Goku, is all it took for her to cave like the underground cave that she isn't. Really, she doesn't know what she has to do about Goku, because he has this way of getting under her heart, and lifting it so much, to such heights, in such a gentle and precise way, that she can never really effectively deny him anything that he wants.

The truth is, in their relationship, it goes both ways; she caves to him, and he caves to her. Although, that's not to say that they don't have moments where she puts her foot down, and he doesn't like it, or when he decides something, and she can't do anything to stop him, because they do. But overall, they have a caving relationship with each other, and no, she wouldn't have it any other way.

Which is why, now, after they spent more than an hour at the coffee shop, simply talking, and later, after they showed up at Goten's school to surprise him, she's here, at home, with Goten, packing bags of snacks for them to apparently have a picnic in their field. A picnic…

With a faint smile on her face while she goes about preparing the snacks for the picnic, she can't help it think of how sweet her Goku is. There can't be a better husband in the world than her sweet, sweet Goku. Goku's simply-

'Here's the paper roll, Mom,' the cheery voice of Goten cuts off her thoughts, as he drops the said item on the counter.

She doesn't need to look at him to know that yes, he's not on his feet, but rather hovering in the air, because at his height, there is no way that he can reach this high up to put the paper roll on. Being aware of this, Chi-Chi quickly lines up two options of things to say to him; either, she reminds him yet again why he _shouldn't_ fly inside the house, or, she simply brushes it off, because they're going for a picnic. It would be easier if she brushed it off, but if she does that, Goten might start to develop the idea that it's all right to fly in the house when it really isn't. It's better for her to keep insisting that it's wrong, until it eventually sinks in for him.

'What did I say about flying inside the house, Goten?' she poses to him without removing her attention from her task.

'But, Mom,' he begins to whine just like she knew he would, even though he's already lowering himself to the ground. 'You were the one who sent me to get the paper roll.'

'I did,' she agrees, 'but I didn't say you should fly to get it. I keep saying that you'll break something if you fly in the house.'

'Okay,' he unwillingly accepts in a sulking tone. 'I'm sorry, Mom.'

He really is, she knows that. She knows that Goten's sorry in _this moment_ , for making her sad by breaking her rules, but being modelled after his father, a second or two, is all it will take for him to completely forget that he'd just done something that he shouldn't have, and move on to something else. That's just how her Goten is.

'Can I help you with the food, please Mom?'

See, there, he's forgotten already, she thinks to herself. It's an absolute good thing that he has, because it means that now, she can talk to him, while he helps her pack all of their food into the respective bags. Since he is one of the males that are her beloved family, it's important to have his opinion on the matter too. His opinion matters to her too, and for the reason that it does, she stops her task for just a little bit, to turn to her son and that hold out her arms for him.

Fortunately, having done this routine countless times before, Goten immediately knows that when she holds out her arms like that, she's silently asking to lift him up, which is why he easily moves into her reach, allowing her to lift him up to be closer to her. She wouldn't normally allow him to be on the counter with shoes on his feet, but for today, thanks to the picnic, she'll make an exception.

It has to be this way, she has to lift him up here, because if she doesn't, Goten will have to levitate to be able to help her up here. And if Goten has to float in the air in order to help her, it would be hypocritical of her to allow, because it would not be in accordance with her no flying rule. She's long ago learned that as a wife and mother, consistency in rules and expectations, is an important tool in governing her family.

'Sure, you can help me,' she tells him as she softly places him on the counter. 'But I want to ask you something. Can I?'

With bright expectant eyes, Goten nods his answer to her, almost making her want to repeat the question over and over, just so she can see that response from him again. Ah, her Goten… What would life be without him? She takes a second to look at his waiting face, to just admire and appreciate him for being who he is. If there are people in the world who don't have happiness, or who live a depressed life, she can _only_ wish for them to have a Goten of their own, because it would change their lives for the best.

'Hallo, Mom...' he calls for her, bringing to her attention that she'd wandered off into her thoughts.

'Oh,' she moves her head a little to return to the present. 'Do you have a problem with me having a friend?'

She has to know, since Goku is _clearly_ jealous of her even being in the same room as Whis. There might be a chance that Goten will be jealous of her and Whis too, or at the very least, feel excluded. Out of everyone, Goten especially, has more reason to be uncomfortable with her budding relationship with the angel. For him, it's always been the two of them through everything. For as long as Goten's lived, he's never had to share her attention with anyone in a way that cut away from her being there when he wanted her to be. However, with Whis coming in, he might just feel threatened in some way.

'Whis?' Goten calmly asks.

It's strange, she notes, he asked that so normally, as though he knows exactly what's going on inside her head. Maybe, she begins to think, he's been bothered about Whis, after all, he just didn't know how to start talking to her about it. If that's the case, she has to go into this conversation with a responsibly alert tongue.

'Yes, Whis,' she responds carefully. 'Will you be jealous if he's my friend?'

'Like Trunks is my friend?' he asks, sounding just as plainly calm as before.

'Yes,' she nods, 'like that?'

Her answer come out as a question, because she doesn't properly know how to approach this conversation yet. From his two questions, her little Goten has already aroused the suspicion in her, that he doesn't feel comfortable about her and Whis, just like his father. Except, on the other hand, those same questions aren't that much of proof that he's uncomfortable with her and Whis per se. She needs to keep talking to him, in order to draw out his real feelings.

'What will you do with him?' he asks after a small pause, where it looked like he was thinking.

Oh, wow! She lets out a silently surprised breath. That's one hell of a question, because she honestly hasn't thought _that_ far. It's only been two days at most since she sat down with Whis, so she didn't really allow herself to dwell on Whis and the blueprints of their relationship. Apparently, though, thanks to Goten, she'll _have_ to think about that now.

'Well…' she starts.

She's trying to think of one normal thing that she could do with Whis, apart from talking, that is, however, Goten doesn't give her enough time to think about it, because he eagerly asks his next question.

'Will you fight with him, like me and Trunks?'

Is he just going to keep asking her questions instead of saying something, an actual statement? She would like it better if he said something, instead of asking things, but she can't deny that his questions are _quite_ relevant. How smart her boy is, only, he shouldn't talk like _that_.

'Trunks and I, Goten,' she reflexively corrects, 'I don't know why you go to school if you won't speak properly. Maybe you should just stop going to school.'

Immediately, she sees a bothered expression show on Goten's face, clearly telling her that he doesn't agree with her on the not going to school part. She didn't expect less, to be honest.

'No, Mom,' he protests as passionately as he can sound, 'I like going to school, it's nice.'

Of course he does. He's not a shy one like Gohan had been at his age. Actually, even now, Gohan is still shier than Goten will ever be in his life. It's only normal that Goten would enjoy going to school and having fun, with his type of personality.

'You can keep going to school,' she ruffles his hair with a smile, 'but you have to speak properly. You're not an uneducated savage. And anyway, I don't think that I'll be fighting with Whis. Adults don't really play together, Goten.'

'You and Dad play together,' he innocently comments.

'That's different,' is her easy response to him.

She's not afraid of discussing her and Goku's 'playing' with Goten, because when Goku is home, on a daily basis, Goten gets to see them interact with each other in a playful manner. They only really take extra care that Goten doesn't ever see them kissing, because that is something private, and definitely not suitable for a pure minded thing like their youngest son.

'I guess so,' he answers with an unbothered shrug. 'Trunks says that he never sees his mom and dad playing together. That's weird.'

'People are different,' she tries to explain, 'that's why we have people who like fighting and those who don't.'

Fighting is the closest thing to the best explanation that she can give him. She could make an example of playing, but she is pretty sure that in Goten's head, it won't enter how someone could _not_ like playing. With fighting, he'll be able to understand it better that people are different, and they do not all like the same things.

'So,' he starts thoughtfully, skewing his head a little bit, 'if you won't fight with Whis, what will you do?'

That pondering look on his face, though, Chi-Chi observes...

She appreciates her son, she really does. In this moment, she appreciates him so much more, because she's starting to realise, that _maybe_ she has it all wrong about how he feels. With this last question for example, he's asking about the only other thing he knows that happens between friends; light hearted fights as a type of training. It doesn't sound to her, like he's being disapproving at all, rather, that he just wants to know what being friends with Whis means for her.

'Talk, I think,' she answers thoughtfully.

To be honest, she hasn't thought all that much about it. So far, she only knows that she likes talking to Whis. Talking with him is so seamless, like she can choose any particular topic, and it would just flow without feeling forced. At least, that's the view that she's had so far. Like she thought before, she might have to talk to Whis about their friendship.

It seems that her answer does something to Goten, because instead of keeping on his feet like he'd been, he adjusts himself so that he's sitting atop the counter and staring at his mother quietly.

'What is it, Goten?'

'Will you still be at home when I get back from school?' he asks, sounding concerned about it.

Not only for the note of concern in his voice, but also for the look on his face, Chi-Chi thinks how strange a question that is to come from him. And that's not even considering the fact that he sat down to wonder about it.

'Yes,' she answers carefully.

All of a sudden, she feels like she doesn't know how this conversation is going to turn out after all. It's a difference from the progress she'd thought they'd been making, and well, it's a bit confusing. She can't believe that her little Goten is sowing tiny seeds of confusion in her, she never thought that would ever be possible at his age.

Ever so slightly, Goten smiles, and then goes on to ask, 'And, will you still cook for me and D- for Dad and I?'

That's another strange question from him. Although she feels the urge to ask him why he's suddenly reverted to asking her questions, she lets a frown cover up that urge instead, while she gives him her reply, 'Of course.'

A simple 'yes', wouldn't be enough of an answer, because even if the sky was tearing up, and the night was swallowing up the sun, to forever eradicate light from the world, she wouldn't allow _that_ to be taken away from her. She'd like to see the person who _dares_ to tell her, or keep her from feeding her family… She'd give her kidneys to see that person.

'So,' Goten skews his head to the other side, 'if Whis is your friend, can I still visit my brother?'

'Yes.'

'And Dad?' he poses, 'Can I still stay with Dad after school?'

Feeling a little worried about him, she leans forwards to bring her face closer to his for an examination. At the first examination, she doesn't find anything to appear physically wrong with him, but that doesn't do anything to settle the worry that she feels.

'Goten, what are all these questions?' she wonders, leaning back just a bit to give him space. 'Yes, you can still be with your father after school.'

'And you?' he apprehensively asks.

'Will I stay with your father after you come back from school?'

What is the meaning of all of these questions? She can tell that they are connected, and obviously important to him, but her mind can't seem to wrap around their ending. What will the end of his questions bring him?

'No,' he shakes his head to show her that that's not his question. 'Can I still stay with you sometimes, when Dad is not here and I don't want to play with Trunks?'

'Of course, you can.'

She doesn't know how many more questions from Goten she will get, but if answering them is what it takes to reach the end, she might as well indulge him. Eventually, whenever he chooses, he'll get to this point, or lose interest and _then,_ they can finish packing their picnic bags, to leave and meet up with Goku as they're supposed to.

'Then okay,' he tells her through the biggest smile that she's seen today, 'you can be friends with Whis. I promise I won't get jealous like Dad.'

His smile came so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that she feels as though a sudden wondrous firework just went off in front of her, that she didn't prepare herself for. She'll admit, it's wonderful to see him smile like that at her, and even more, to smile through telling her that she has his permission to have Whis as a friend, but she would've liked for some sort of foreshadowing that hinted at a smile from him, because then she would've properly prepared herself to receive it from him.

As she wasn't prepared for Goten's smile, much less his conclusion to his previously unconnected seeming questions, she can only look at him with wonder for the first few seconds after his smile and words. For one thing, there's that smile, oh, that smile of his, so happy and gentle at the same time; so Goten, and for another, she hadn't really been asking for his permission to have Whis as a friend, but what does she know, she evidently has it now.

What a wonder her boy is!

All this time, she didn't manage to put together that he was just asking questions, to find out if she would still stay the same if she has Whis as a friend. He recently just turned eight, and while it isn't strange for him to ask such questions, she wouldn't really have expected it of him, to go about finding out the truth, in _that way_. But then again, if she thinks of all the time that he spends around Gohan, she's not all that amazed that he would use such a simple, yet genius way of knowing all that he wants to know.

What a wonder her boy is, indeed!

'Thank you, Goten,' she beams at him, right then straightening her body to avoid wrapping her arms around him for being such a wonderful child.

'You need a friend too, Mom,' he lets her know. 'I don't want you to be sad when Dad's not here with us.'

How thoughtful of him, she thinks. Although, she wonders, had she said no to any of his questions, would he probably not have not given her his permission to be friends with Whis? What touches her heart the most, is that she he expected that Goten of everyone, to have a problem with dividing her attention with other people, but no, he clearly doesn't seem bothered by it. At least, not as long as nothing about her and what she does, changes.

'Can we go back to Dad now?' he asks. 'I wanna have our picnic. It's going to be so fun.'

And there he is, her precious child, changing subjects as though he hadn't just been asking her a string of questions. He makes it seem as though they didn't just go through a question and answer session, for him to arrive to the conclusion that yes, she can have Whis as a friend, for as long as it doesn't cut into his time with her. He really is precious.

'Yes,' she laughs, internally marveling at how like his father he is, 'but before we go, can I ask you something else again?'

Giving off the impression that he's excited to answer another one of her questions, he eagerly nods as he hums, 'Hmm.'

'What do you think of me?' she testingly presents.

She knows that he likes her, that he would never trade her for Trunk's mom, no matter how many toys Trunks gets from his mom, and that he likes to sleep with her sometimes when he has a nightmare, but they've never talked about _what_ he thinks of her. It's only that she finds that at this particular time, she suddenly wants to know what he thinks when he looks at her, or what goes on through his head, when he thinks of the fact that he has a mom at home. Surprisingly, Goten doesn't even take the time to think about it, he just goes right ahead and begins to say what's on his mind.

'You're the best Mom in the whole world,' he begins to list. 'You fight with me, and you wash my hair. And you make the best food. And, you like to hug me. And I would be really sad if you weren't here. And Dad would be sad. My brother and Grandpa will also be sad if you weren't here.'

If she didn't believe that it would break Goten's heart to see her shed tears, she would let out the tears that she feels forming in her eyes right now, for what he just revealed to her. He may only have mentioned the things that make _him_ happy the most when it comes to her, but that's exactly the point. He couldn't have said anything more perfect than that.

'Goten?' she calls with a shaking voice.

She's trying her best to not let her tears fall, but on the matter of keep her voice stable, that's a completely different thing. So totally different, that it's almost out of her control, and no, she doesn't mind it one bit. A person doesn't always need to have to be in control, to be significant. Sometimes, letting control go, defines someone's significance, which is exactly the case with her here. In letting go of the almost-not control that she doesn't have, she's outlining herself as powerful.

'Yes Mom?' happily leaves his mouth.

His obliviousness, makes her want to lose even the control that she has over her tears. No, actually, his happy obliviousness, is tempting her to give in to her tears and just let them out as they will to come out.

'Just never grow up, okay?' she manages to choke out.

It's her deepest wish that he never becomes an adult. What would she do without her daily dose of Goten making her raise her voice at least twice a day, and then making her laugh right after that, before melting her heart one way or another with something that he says? No, she wouldn't survive a day without him.

Goten, clearly not pleased, pulls a frown at the request. 'But I wanna be big and strong like Dad,' he explains to her. 'I don't want to be a baby forever. Can I grow up, Mom? Please?'

This Goten, she finds herself letting out a strained laugh; strained because the sound can't make up its mind whether it wants to lean more towards the laughing kind of cry, or towards the happy kind of laugh. Is he _really_ asking for her permission to grow up? Doesn't he know that with or without her say so, he will grow up.

Oh, Goten, he's just adorably edible.

'Only if you promise to hug me very tightly,' she bargains, still struggling to keep her voice together.

Catching her off guard, because she barely finishes giving her condition, Goten flings forwards to tightly wrap his arms around her neck. If she thought she didn't know how to keep voice in check before, she's at a complete loss for how to respond to this.

'Hmm,' contently leaves his throat, being followed by a whispery, 'I like you, Mom.'

She'll die, she swears, she'll die. She'll die, because she feels like her insides are turning to warmly useless goo, that can no longer support her entire weight to keep her standing and sober. This Goten of hers is just too much. Like his father, he keeps surprising her today, and telling her that he loves her in his own childish way, is the best surprise of them all.

'I love you too, Goten,' she heartily returns to him, sounding surprisingly sober for how she feels.

' _Now_ can we go to Dad?' he asks again even with his arms still around her neck.

Oh yes, she smiles to herself, she'll definitely die from an overdose of Goten.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

Just as they are landing near a tree, a long distance from where Goku is punching about in the field, Chi-Chi tells Goten to let her down, and go to get his father. In his excitement, Goten doesn't quite set her down as gently as he should, but she doesn't mind it one bit. She's still a little giddy from earlier with him, enough to let him get away with acting that tad recklessly.

'Hey, Dad,' Goten shouts from where they are, 'we're here.'

She thought that he would fly over to Goku and tell him to join them, not this, Goten standing here with her and shouting out to his father from here. And again, she would've expected that Goku, upon hearing the call, would shout back and then begin to walk to them, but he too surprises her, because he just pops up right in front of Goten, not even a fraction of a second later.

How lazy of him, she thinks fondly, how lazy of the both of them; like father like son, right down to the last strand of disobedient hair on their heads.

On the other hand, she thinks, seeing Goku now, she can't help it be amazed at him. He must be the only man in the world, who can spend hours training and exercising his body, and not let out a single drop of sweat. It would take day two straight days of intensely heavy training to get him to break into a sweat. She'll never admit it to anyone, but she internally boasts about her strong husband, about how he's like no other on the planet. Or universe for that matter.

'Hey, Chi-Chi,' Goku's hand lifts in a pleasant wave. 'Why'd you tie your hair?'

'I was making food,' she tells him, but secretly feeling bad that she didn't take care to loosen it for the picnic.

Goku looks like he's about to tell her that he likes her hair better when it's down, so that he can play with it, if he wants to -he really looks like that's what he wants to say-, but then Goten urgently starts to tug on his jacket sleeve for his attention, making him look down at their son.

'Dad, can I drive the tractor for a little please? I promise I'll be careful.'

'Go ahead,' Goku jerks his thumb towards the tractor.

Either Goten hadn't been expecting a negative answer, Chi-Chi thinks to herself, or he just knew that his father would never refuse him something as big as driving a tractor -she won't even get to thinking about his short legs reach the pedals-, because he immediately begins to run off. The sight of Goten running off like that, makes her glad enough to lovingly threaten him.

'We'll eat all the food if you take too long,' she teases after him, which instantly has him stopping in his tracks to face them.

'I won't take long,' he assures her. 'I'll come back to eat.'

And then he just takes off again, knowing very well, having security in the fact that they won't really eat all the food and leave nothing for him. It's a good thing that as a family, they know each other well like this, because as sad as it is, not all the families in the world have what they have.

'That boy…' she muses to herself, barely managing to keep a smile off her face.

When she faces Goku to the right of where Goten had stood, she finds finds Goku staring at her. No, not staring at her, what she finds him doing, is something more than staring. If she was asked to put it into accurate words, she would say that Goku is mentally painting her into his mind with his eyes, and then taking a step back to stare at the painting that he made, to admire it. All this, of course, he's only doing in his head, through his eyes, she would say.

'What?' she inquires, finding it hard not to frown as she does.

'I was just thinking that I wouldn't know what I would do if you weren't here,' he answers evenly.

'Train a lot more,' she supplies, 'that's for sure.'

It's not even something that she can get angry about, because that is who he is. If he was ever told that he couldn't train, he'd lose his mind before combusting into ether, just as she would do, if someone forbade her to be a housewife.

'Yeah,' he giggles, simultaneously scratching the back of his head, but then his face grows serious. 'But I mean… I like to know that you're _here_. Wherever I am, I like to know that you're there… _here_. So, I just don't know what I would do if you weren't here.'

He likes to know that she is here? What is that supposed to mean? She knows that he wouldn't like it if she died, but where is this suddenly coming from? It's not as if there's anything particularly dangerous out to get the Earth, and she is in danger of dying. Unless… Unless he knows something that he didn't tell her yet.

'Like if I was dead?' she asks to have it clear.

As the answer to her question, he shakes his head except, there's something in his eyes, on his face, that seems to be saying that death, he can deal with. And as if that isn't telling enough, he quietly adds, 'Just if you weren't here,' in a tone that is begging to be heard, even at its softest.

'You're being vague, husband of mine,' she comments, choosing not to dwell on his vagueness. 'Will you help me with the picnic please? You're going to eat most of the food anyway, it's only fair that you help me.'

A goofy smile travels from him, intended for her, right before he moves to her, while she silently crouches down to remove a blanket from one of the tree bags. As she gets up, Goku's waiting hand takes the blanket from her, and then unfolds it before handing her two corners. She easily takes her ends, while he walks backwards, to create the necessary space to lay the blanket, and when he feels he's at a safe distance, they move their hands and arms together, in near perfect sync, to lay the blanket down on the ground, just a step away from the three picnic bags.

Once the blanket is laid, she sees him come to her, when all of a sudden, she finds herself on the blanket, on her back, with Goku laying next to her, his right leg hooked around her left leg, to keep her in place, and his head turned her way. How did that happen?

'This is no time for playing, Honey,' she half-heartedly reproaches. 'Let's finish laying the picnic first. Aren't you hungry? You only really had breakfast today.'

'I'm hungry,' he tells her with a smile, even though his eyes tell a different story, 'but I'm also sorry about earlier today. I shouldn't have acted like that.'

Ah, oh, so that's what this is about? He wants to apologise to her for behaving like he did, but he didn't quite know how to go about it? So is that the reason that here he is, looking at her with worried eyes? Is he worried that she might not forgive him so easily for acting like he did?

'I'm sorry,' he lets her know, all the sincerity in the world in his black eyes.

Because of the worry shining in his eyes, she instinctively reaches out her hand to stroke his cheek. It's that she can't _not_ do that, when his face looks extremely sorry, and his eyes bear so much worry in them. Also, it's partly her fault for not listening to him when he told her that he cannot stand the thought of her with Whis. If he's sorry, she's more than that, because whether she meant to or not, she put him in a position that made him act out like that. She should give her share of an apology too.

'You _do_ know that I didn't mean to provoke you, don't you?' she wants to know. 'Because I would never intentionally upset you, Honey.'

'I know,' he accepts quietly, except the worry doesn't leave his eyes.

'Although,' she continues, 'I do admit that you being jealous like this, is something that I find refreshing. I mean look at us, spending almost the whole day together like this, because you got a little jealous.'

While yes, she didn't mean to provoke him by spending that previous time with Whis, she's wholly glad that she did. She got to talk to Whis openly, and then her husband showed up and took her with him, later insisting that she bring a picnic to the field, so that they could spend the day together. If it wasn't for his jealousy, none of this would be happening right now.

She's no fool, she knows the actual reason behind this picnic, is so that she doesn't stay at home without him, and risk Whis showing up again to meet with her in his absence, but who is she to complain? It's not as if Goku is forcing himself to want a picnic with her, to spend time with her. If he suggested the picnic, it's because he does want to spend time with her.

'Don't use that word, Chi-Chi,' he cries like a child being wrongly accused, 'it makes me sound like a selfish person, and I'm not.'

First drawing her eyebrows together, she lifts off her chest and then adjusts herself to be propped on her elbow to have a better look at him.

'I know you're not selfish,' she tells him, 'being jealous doesn't make you selfish.'

'Yes, it does,' he cries again, following what she did and propping himself on his elbow to face her too. 'It means that I don't want to share you, that I want to keep you all to myself, and not expose you to anyone else. I don't like knowing that I'm selfish.'

He believes it. Her poor husband actually believes that in admitting that he's jealous, he would be ordaining himself as a selfish person, and that doesn't sit well with him. No wonder all this…

'Honey, listen to me,' soothingly leaves her mouth, 'you're the furthest thing from selfish. Look at all the times you do things for your friends, and genuinely never expect anything in return from them. Look at all the training time you deprive yourself, so you can get in a work done in our field.'

On the field work, she knows that he trains during the day in between working in the field. _That_ she knows, because she knows her husband. However, more than he trains, he takes care of their field with dedication. That dedication, is what matters the most to her, what counts as love to her. If he were selfish, he would collect all the favours that everyone owes him, or simply ask Bulma to hire a team of labourers to work on the sly for him, while he trains to his heart's content. He isn't a selfish person.

'Trust me,' she reinforces, 'you're not selfish.'

To her praise, he rubs his free index finger under his nose, like he does when he's embarrassed, because something that was said, is genuinely true and he doesn't want to admit it. The first time she noticed that about him, was at their wedding, right before the photographer took their picture and he said that they looked perfect together, and happy. From the side of her eye, she'd seen him rub his finger under his nose. It had been so cute then, as it is now.

'Aw, Chi-Chi,' he warmly complains, trying to cover up his embarrassment with words.

He's too much. Much too adorable, much too Goku, and much too lovable. It's that he is the only strong person in the world that becomes putty from compliments. His friends never did, or _do_ realise that about him, but she knows him pretty well. Among other things, if she wants to render him powerless, all she has to do is genuinely compliment him.

'I could give you a list of all the ways that you aren't selfish,' she teases, absolutely loving the cute way he's reluctant to hear her compliments.

'No, please don't,' he says shyly, scrunching up his nose and then dropping down from his elbow, to lay back on his head and cover his face with his left forearm.

A crime, that's what it is, she softly chuckles at her husband's behavior. It should be illegal to be that wonderful, as her husband is. It's cute how he knows that he's a good person, but he never wants people to point that out to him, because it makes him feel like if he accepts people saying wonderful things about him, it'll get to his head, and then he'll become cocky. Very cocky.

In the spirit of indulging herself in the decadence of his cuteness, she mimics what he did, to lay on her head as well. Besides, if she feels the impulse to nuzzle against his neck, she can easily do it while laying with him, instead of having difficulty shifting to him.

'You're so adorable, Goku,' leaves her mouth with great affection. 'You're like a big Goten.'

That compliment, gets him to remove his forearm from his face and turn his head to hers. The embarrassment from before is completely gone off his face, and in its place, a dead set expression.

'Goten…' he says seriously. 'I looked at him yesterday, and I…' he pauses to pull in a short breath, only to continue with, 'I'm being selfish again, but I don't want him to grow up. I don't want him to ever stop shining whenever he sees me. Is that wrong? Is something wrong with me, Chi-Chi?'

Well, she does know that something is wrong with him, for thinking that something is wrong with him. She can't blame him, though, because all this is new to him, and to be honest, had she been in his shoes, she wouldn't know how she would've reacted. To him, these feelings of being selfish and possessive, must equal to an earthquake taking place inside of him, that he doesn't know how to quell.

'No,' her head shakes, 'it's not wrong, but only because I want the same thing. I don't ever want him to grow up, but he begged me to allow him to grow up to be big and strong like his Dad.'

She can still see Goten's face as he asked her to let him grow up, because he doesn't want to be a baby forever. It was like he truly believed that without her permission, he couldn't grow up. That same vulnerability that had been on Goten's face, is the one that showed on Goku's face when he asked if something is wrong with him. Her boys seem to have it set in their minds that her words and her answers, are law.

'He'll be stronger,' Goku tells her matter-of-factedly, replying to her statement,

'But,' she thinks about it, 'I don't think he wants to be stronger than you. I think in his head, the idea of his father being the strongest forever, is something that makes him happy.'

She supposes that in a way, Goten is like everyone else in the world. He, just like the rest of the world, likes to know that there's someone out there to save them, who has to shoulder the responsibility that they don't want to have to, for the inherent fear of failure that lies within every human.

'Well,' he gently hums, the worry in his eyes finally starting to leave, 'it would make me happy if he was stronger than me. And Gohan too. They should be like their Mom. Even Pan should be like her grandma.'

At that, she lets out a happy laugh. She suddenly just got a mental image of her being physically stronger than him, that is just too ridiculous for words. Also, the idea of she and her two other boys being stronger than him, brings her humour.

'Honey,' she stops her laughter to say, 'if all three of us were stronger than you, you'd never leave home.'

Sure, they'd let him leave, but not leave, leave. She for one, wouldn't allow him to leave to a place where he could be gone for even weeks at a time. Goten would probably allow him to leave for training, but on the condition that he'd go with him. And Gohan, Gohan would simply want his father to be proud of him, and so, he would use whatever means it took, to make his father proud, without neglecting his life and family.

'But, if I never leave home,' he starts casually, 'I'm not all that sure that you'd leave our bed in the mornings, to be honest. You're wonderful, Chi-Chi, I love that about you.'

And he says it so casually, like it's a fact that everyone knows, and then smiles on top of that. He doesn't smile seductively, not suggestively, nor presumptuously, no, he simply gives her a warm smile that's just _him_. He must be the only being in the world who can say something so intimate and deep, without a hint of lust or masked insinuation, but rather, purely honest, and straight from the heart.

For that praise from him, she feels warmth creep all over her skin in what feels like a deep blush. A full body blush, to be exact. Not for _how_ he said what he said, rather for hearing out loud that he would make love with her endlessly, if he stayed at home all the time. It's one thing to know that her husband loves how giving she is during their intimate moments, but in comparison, it's a whole other dimension of a thing, to hear him confess that he'd make the most of her giving spirit if he didn't have to leave home.

'Oh,' she sighs contently, eyeing him lovingly, 'my Goku.'

In response, he deepens his smile, and still, his smile doesn't carry any form of desire in it. Sure, if right now she decided to pounce on him and begin to kiss him, he would readily change from casual to willing within seconds, but no, her Goku isn't like other people. Her Goku knows how to keep himself in check and compartmentalise things as he should. She supposes that in a way, part of why he's able to tuck his family-man side aside when he's outside of their home, is thanks to that ability of his.

'I like that we're here,' he confesses, shifting his head to be a little closer to hers. 'Do you?'

Before she gives him an answer, she moves her a leg a little, so that his leg that is hooked around her, moves along with hers. It's her way of telling him that she wouldn't want anything better in the moment, and she even opens her mouth to sound the words, but then Goten suddenly joins them. Apart from Goten's presence catching her off guard, he surprises her when he squeezes himself between them, being extra careful to align his head with theirs, as he lays on his back just like them.

'Are you watching clouds?' he innocently asks them, immediately turning his head to the sky, and then follows it with a short index finger to point up. 'Oh, look, I think I see a rabbit.'

So soon? He just laid his head down, how is it, that he already sees a rabbit in the clouds? But then again, being a child, anything is possible in the eyes of a child.

'Where?' she chooses to humour him.

Goten points a little more to her side than his. 'There,' he tells her. 'There are the long ears, and the tail, and look, his feet.'

Seeing as she followed his finger, she's easily able to see what he means, the only problem is, the rabbit doesn't actually happen to have an actual body, The other parts, yes, but the body, no. Also, the long ears don't make it look like a rabbit at all.

'That's a hare, Goten,' she corrects, pointing her finger up to the sky. 'Look at its long ears. Rabbits don't have ears like that… See?'

To show him what she means, she traces her finger in the air, to draw the pattern of the hare's ears, hoping for her son to catch what she's tracing, when for no apparent reason, Goku's finger starts tracing in the air until it reaches hers. Although her eyes see his finger, her mind doesn't pay that much attention to it, until he hooks his index finger around hers that is tracing, following that with threading his fingers with hers.

Really, her head to turns to his side, this Goku of hers. He can't just let a moment go by where he isn't the centre of her attention? Not that he's ever jealous of her giving Goten more attention when she does, but sometimes, he just has his moments when he's well… just child-like and requires any form of attention from her. In this case, having their hands joined like this, is apparently all the attention he needs while she talks to Goten about rabbits and hares.

'Hey…' Goten starts to complain as though he feels robbed of something precious. 'Mom, Dad, I can't see my rabbit. Move your hands.'

As he complains, he uses both of his hands to try and get their hands to move away from his view, but with his arms being too short, he doesn't manage to even reach half of where their hands are joined together in the air. It's such a cute shame that he's clearly struggling to get to their hands in the air.

'Our hands are stuck, Goten,' Goku jokes in a mockingly horrified tone.

Goten doesn't buy it, instead, he giggles and then looks at his father to say, 'No they're not. You just have to let go of Mom's hand, Dad.'

'But I don't wanna,' Goku whines in a typical Goten tone.

'But I wanna see the rabbit,' Goten whines back, beginning to use his legs to try and tug his parents' hands down.

His legs also being too short to reach their hands, Chi-Chi decides that it's time for them to start eating anyway. If she lets them keep fooling around like this, they'll never start eating. Besides, it's not like those two refrain from playing even while eating, so... Gently, so as not to make Goku feel like she doesn't want to be holding his hand, she eases her fingers from his, at the same time getting off her back and onto her bottom. Only once she's on her bottom, does she untangle her leg from his.

'All right, boys,' she happily announces as her hand reaches for the first bag, 'it's time to eat.'

In an instant's response, not missing a beat and in perfect sync, her boys lift off the ground and before she knows it, they are seated just like she is.

'We're up,' they pronounce together, with equal measures of enthusiasm.

Oh, her boys, she smiles to herself.

* * *

Chapter 13, **Gift Of Love.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13, **Gift Of Love.**

* * *

He would rather, _really rather_ not lose this cuddling thing that he has going on with Chi-Chi right now, and much less at _this_ time of the morning, when he's not due to get out of bed for quite some time, but…

Closing his eyes for a second, he lets out a long tired sigh, which is not fitting for the time of the day and considering that he just freshly sprung from sleep, but all the same, he lets out his sigh.

He would really rather not get out of bed yet, at least, not until his time to get out of bed like he normally does, has come, but… But he has to get out of bed. He has, like he's beginning to do, to untangle his arms from his wife's sleeping body, and then gently crawl out of bed, so that his movements don't do anything to wake her prematurely.

If he's going to force himself to leave the haven of their bed, the least he can do, is do it professionally, in a way that doesn't disturb his sleeping wife. All the gods know, or rather, they should know –by witnessing it- that she's the singularly hardworking and dedicated person in the world. She gets up early before him and Goten, and she always goes to bed later than they usually do.

Once again, this time, waiting to fully be out of bed and looking down at the sleeping woman on the bed, Goku closes his eyes for a second, while letting out his second sigh of the morning. Immediately after that, he turns his back and begins to walk out of the bedroom just the way he is, not adding not even a single thing to his body.

As far as he knows, he thinks as he walks away from their bed, he sighed tiredly for a number of reasons, and the first of those reasons, being that he _does_ feel a little tired. Not physically tired, no, he doesn't feel that kind of tired. He feels an internal tiredness, that he can't even begin to know how to explain it to himself properly, and thus, he's leaving their bedroom, to see if he can _maybe_ attack this internal tiredness to leave him, with physical exercise in the forest just outside of their home.

In this spirit of thought, starting from their bedroom door, to the front door, he opens each door cautiously, and closes each door with more gentleness than the caution that he initially opened them with. As soon he feels he's successfully left the house, without waking his family up, he takes off at full speed into the deep of the forest.

Even in the light darkness just before dawn, he still knows his way around the forest, and he clearly doesn't need any light to help him see better. In this forest, he spent many years, even going as far as to sleep outdoors on various particular nights when he was a child. And to be honest, this forest has helped him out quite a bit, especially in difficult times. Like now.

No, he quickly counters in his head, coming to a standstill in the air. That's not true, _now_ isn't a difficult time. It isn't one bit difficult at all. What it is, is that there's obviously something, (he doesn't know what yet) that's making him feel… internally tired. That's what it is, so it's not a difficult time for him at all right now.

And there are solid and very valid reasons now isn't a difficult time. One being that he went to bed contently, with the assurance that he has his family with him, and the other reason being that he woke up contently as well. Sure, once he opened his eyes, he immediately felt the internal tiredness make itself known to him, quickly swallowing the state of content in which he'd roused from sleep with, but that doesn't necessarily say that he's going through a difficult time.

And anyway, even if he was going through a difficult time, he just knows that moving his body for a good hour or so, will sort him out. Which is why he's here in the forest, to let out a few kicks and punches, even if it's just to the plain air. It'll be good for him, and that way, he can start the day properly, without feeling like he's… uneasy, if he's being precise. It's just time for him to start his kicking, he tells himself, and so, he starts screaming to power up just a little bit.

After powering up, not even to thirty percent of in his base form, just as he's starting to get accustomed to the awakening of a little bit more of strength inside of him, he feels another power source behind him. Well, this is a surprise that he didn't factor when he thought to come out here and free himself of that uncomfortable internal feeling. Nonetheless, it's an interesting surprise, and he's going to welcome it wholly.

With an impressed smile, and without facing the person in question, Goku asks, 'What are you doing here so early?'

'I could ask you the same thing,' Piccolo's deeply contemplative voice replies.

Piccolo's right, Goku thinks, where Piccolo is usually up around this time, meditating and keeping an eye on the Earth, Goku's usually a late sleeper. On a typical day, he normally gets up an hour and a half after Chi-Chi does, and so for him to be out here at a time when he would normally be sleeping, is enough of a suspicion to make Piccolo come all the way from his meditation spot, to him here.

'I want to kick something,' Goku replies as he turns around to look at his friend.

When Piccolo only stares at him as though he's waiting for the big finish to come, an idea suddenly comes to Goku. A genius idea.

'Heeeey…' he pulls the word with wonder. 'Can I kick _you_ , Piccolo?'

Since Piccolo's here, he might as well join in and give Goku a challenge. Of course, he'd been prepared to kick at the wind and punch the air, but now that an actual fighting being is here available to him, he might as well engage in a fight with him. It'll produce more satisfying results, that's for sure.

Following his question, Goku suddenly feels a big gush of wind shove him backwards and _then_ only, the pain follows. Very specific abdominal pain, in the stomach area to be exact, registers on his body. From that pain, is when he realises that Piccolo _just_ hit him, and when he looks at Piccolo to confirm this, and he finds his friend smirking, he just knows that forceful punch was the answer to his question.

Feeling infected by Piccolo's smirk, Goku returns it, only, he returns it in the form of a thankful smile

There's _that_ security in their friendship. It's that plain and simple.

There's something about deliberately allowing himself to be killed by Piccolo, way back when, and then later finding out that Piccolo died to save his son, that put the two of them in this place of security with each other. For example, he could easily ask Vegeta, Yamcha or even Krillin the same thing, but in each respective case, it would be different.

He would _never_ say it to his friends, because it would make them think that he ranks them, but he _does_ have ranks for them. He ranks them, by what he can do and say to them. Krillin is his best friend, but he'd never really sit down to have a deep heart to heart with him, the way he would with Piccolo. Had it been Krillin hovering where Piccolo is right now, they would've been talking a lot more, than manifesting unspoken words, through actions, actions which really speak louder than words.

He's so thankful for Piccolo, he realises. The two of them have an understanding and security that's inexplicable. Maybe, that trust and security is from the fact that Piccolo is always there, present in his family, either with Gohan, or helping Chi-Chi, and even helping with Pan… he doesn't know. What he does know, is that he has something with Piccolo, that he doesn't have with his other friends.

'Yeah,' Piccolo finally answers him, even moving closer to him. ' _Now_ you can kick me.'

Needing no second invitation, Goku aims to deliver a kick, but his friend timely jumps back to perfectly avoid the blow.

'If you _can_ ,' Piccolo smugly taunts him, folding his arms for the desired effect of bragging.

Oh, Goku effortlessly raises his eyebrow at the challenge, it's _so_ on.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

Dawn has already broken by the time he reaches the door of his home. He opens the door, fairly sure that Chi-Chi and Goten are already up. In fact, judging by the heavenly smell of strips of garlic bacon, that is greeting his nose at the front door, he can already imagine feast of a breakfast that must be awaiting him. Lucky Goten, he thinks, the little guy must be stuffing his face with all the food that he can.

When Chi-Chi prepares the garlic bacon for breakfast (and she does this very rarely), he always finds himself falling in love with her with each bite that he takes. He swears, Vegeta can brag about all the lavish food that he eats on a daily basis, but Goku knows that he has the best right here, in his home, with his wife.

He can't wait to have breakfast, he thinks as he closes the door with no caution at all. Seeing as they are both awake, there's no reason for him to be careful with how he closes the door. But then three steps away from the door, when his wife appears out of nowhere in front of him, he instantly regrets not having cautioned when he closed the door.

'He-he-he,' he stutters nervously at seeing her.

Son Chi-Chi, his wife, is standing right in front of him, her eyes boring right into his, that he wouldn't be able to look away from them if he tried.

The effect of his wife's glare, is threefold. Firstly, he's _suddenly_ very aware of his lack of attire. Secondly, he hopes –and he acknowledges how useless this hope of his is, because there's no chance of it coming true- that she's simply going to ignore him and let him leave for the bathroom to fix himself. And lastly, he shuts his eyes to block out the intensity of her stare.

Because he immediately just came in contact with her eyes, he still hasn't gotten around to seeing the look on her face, but if previous experience is anything to go, he's sure that she's got her unimpressed look on.

He loves her, he really does. No one can tell him that he doesn't love his wife, but sometimes, she gets this look on her face that just makes him feel like a deflated object, and in those times… Well, in those times, only Goten or Gohan _barely_ have the power over their mother to save him.

'Hi,' he lets out nervously, his smile also reflecting that nervousness. 'Morning, Honey,'

As he expected, silence is the answer that he gets from her, but feeling confident that his term of endearment helped her tone down a bit, he cracks on one eye to see if the coast is clear. Fortunately, he finds that her eyes have moved away from his face entirely and are rather focusing on him from his feet upwards, and so, he quickly opens his other eye to read her expression.

Oh boy, he observes her face, she looks… not impressed. Those gathered eyebrows, and the faint colour touching both of her pale cheeks, and man, oh, man, those thinned lips… And wait, he continues to think as his eyes also leave her face to observe another important determining factor of her current mood; her hands. Yep, he sharply draws in a breath, clenched hands, she's definitely not impressed with him at the moment.

Oh boy!

'It smells great in here,' he nervously comments, clumsily attempting to diffuse the situation.

The distraction might get her to cool down, because as upset as Chi-Chi can get, she's just as easily distracted away from her anger. At least, with him, that's usually the case. She's always told him that it's impossible to be upset with him for longer than five minutes.

It's then, that she heavily drags her eyes back to his, and then her thinned lips move together to form a roundish shape. Clearly, he won't escape this, he accepts.

'Look at yourself, Goku,' she gestures her hand towards him, her voice just a notch of soft shouting. 'You sneak out in the middle of the night in your underwear and no shoes. Do you know how worried I was? What if you caught a cold? You know, you may be strong and brave, but you have an immune system just like the rest of us, and just like the rest of us, it can be attacked. What if you caught a cold?'

Only _she_ would be _that_ worried; truly worried of him catching a cold, and it reminds him that she'll always be wary where he is concerned, especially concerning his health and life. And because her voice is clearly outlining just how worried she'd been about him, he begins to lose his nervousness, replacing it with slight remorse for putting her through that.

'I'm sorry, Chi-Chi,' he apologises sincerely. 'I didn't mean to make you worry.'

In response, she swiftly gives him her back and then starts going back to the kitchen. He follows after her without consciously thinking to do so.

'And really, Goku, no shoes?' she continues to rant while she walks on. 'Just because you can fly, it doesn't mean that there aren't any airborne diseases that you could inhale and carry to your feet. Seriously, Goku, I don't know where your head stays sometimes.'

He widens his steps to catch up with her, before using his hands to hold either side of her and keep her standing still in place.

'I said, I'm sorry,' he heartily cries.

For a small second, she only looks at him, and it doesn't look like she's going to say anything to him, but then her expression softens from being unimpressed, to looking tired.

'I worry myself to death,' she tells him, only, it sounds like she's trying to coax him, in the tone that she's using, 'and you just make it worse by doing things like sneaking out in your underwear. Who knows how cold it is out there? What do I always tell you, Honey? Don't I always tell you that the perfect man, is the man who knows exactly how vulnerable he is? You're not superhuman, Goku, no matter how much powering up you do. I always tell you that.'

She _does_ always tell him that, and to add to that, Whis once told him that his being too relaxed and overconfidence that allows his mind to wander, weakens his strong body. So, yes, he does know that he has vulnerabilities and he's only as strong as he takes care to be, it's only that it's easier said than done, to advise that he should constantly put those two concepts into practice for his own good.

'Aww, Chi-Chi,' he tries to explain himself, 'I know, but I just wanted to kick a few times, that's all.'

What he's trying to tell her, is that he didn't intentionally wake up with the idea of going out in his underwear to simply train. He wants her to know that, but at the same time, he also doesn't want to have to explain to her that he felt… something earlier, and he simply wanted to get rid of it, the way he thought he would be able to.

'Hmph,' she dismisses just as she moves out of his grasp to pick up walking again.

Okay, he slightly panics, he's losing her. It's bad enough that he made her worry, but to leave it at this, where she's not really over it, would be the wrong thing to do. Besides, he doesn't like it when she's not okay with him.

It's time for survival mode. The one thing that he knows, is that she can _never_ resist hugs from behind. She finds them unbelievably romantic and meaningful; they make her feel most loved, she says. He'll just bust out one for now. Plus, he owes himself this, for getting out of bed way too early and depriving himself their cuddle time. Following her again, he reaches to start wrapping his arms around her waist, when she easily evades his touch.

'Hmph,' she verbally rejects his touch again. 'Why didn't you hug Piccolo instead? Since he's so important to you, that you'd sneak out of bed, leaving me asleep to spend a few kicks with?'

But, he complains in his head, it's not even like that. He and Piccolo didn't arrange to meet up. He went out, to attempt to get himself right for the day, and then Piccolo made an effort to be there for him, even without probing about what could be wrong. He didn't go looking for Piccolo, but he can understand that as the wife left in bed, she might allow her thoughts to stray that way.

And of course, she knows that Piccolo is the only one who would entertain him at such an hour. Just like he does, she knows that when it comes to Piccolo, he's the only one of his friends who he can count on unconditionally, but she also knows very well that he can't do such a thing as hug with Piccolo.

'Piccolo's not you, so _please_ let me hug you,' he sulkingly cries to her.

'A few kicks!' she mumbles darkly, rounding sharply to face him. 'As if! Look at the time, and then tell me you just had a few kicks! And in your underwear even! Don't you know that you could've gotten a rip in your underwear? It's one thing to get your clothes ripped, but your underwear! Really, Goku, what am I going to do with you?'

Oh, it dawns on him. He should've realised that she wasn't finished nagging, because then she would've allowed him to hug her.

Still, though, he reasons, even if she's not through with her complaints, he'll try his luck by suggesting, 'Hug me?'

To his suggestion, she responds by biting the inside of her cheek, and then letting out an annoyed, 'Hmph!' right before she and completes her journey to the dining table.

Again, he rushes after her, not willing to let this go until she's fine with him. He also really does want that hug from her, he's not just being persistent for no reason.

'Look, Chi-Chi,' he tries to sound stern as he raises his index finger. 'Don't make me hug you by force.'

At the 'threat', like he hoped would be the effect, he watches as her face begins to twitch, indicating to him that she wants to smile. Sometimes, he likes to playfully threaten her with hugging her by force, with the implication that if he does that, if she lets it get to that, she'll be at his mercy as a playmate. That threat, always does the trick for them, and he's glad that it's come through for him once again, he gratefully thinks with an inward sigh of gratitude.

'Just don't make me worry, Goku,' she softly cautions, following that with the most precious thing.

Because he hadn't been expecting her to do it, he watches in dazed awe, as his wife begins to rotate on the spot, making do that her back is to him, and her stance is expectant of a hug from the back.

Wow, he'd been perfectly all right with just giving her a normal hug, and thus 'kiss and make up' with her, but apparently, she… No, he can't wait to be invited twice for this! With that thought, he slides towards her, already stretching out his arms, so that when he presses his front to her back, his arms are already light years ahead into the hug.

Aaah… he marvels at the simple contact.

For everyone else, a hug like this may just be standard, but to him, it's special, for the reason that he's not always home with his wife. At first, in their marriage, Chi-Chi had been the only one who found profound meaning in then simple things. Although, after years of indulging her in those simple things and being witness to how happy they made her, her love and appreciation for simple things inevitably rubbed off on him.

Now, after so many years of marriage, he too, just like her, finds something quite pleasurable and fulfilling in the simple things of life. In fact, he would even go so far as to say that he (more than her) cherishes the little moments that he may have with her, because as often as he's gone, he never _really_ has the luxury of having simple moments with her.

'I didn't mean to make you worry,' he tells her again.

Maybe, with his arms tightly around her like this, with his firm chest pressed to her back, and his chin on her shoulder, she'll accept that he didn't intentionally mean to make her worry.

'I know,' she finally accepts. 'I know that you don't like me getting upset either, but you constantly do things that will make me nag. I only care about you, Goku, and I don't want anything to happen to you.'

He's probably crazy, but he really doesn't mind her nagging. The truth is, he sometimes uses the mindset of a child, where he just decides to do something, without thinking of the consequences. In those times, he simply acts and chooses to do what he wants, because it's genuinely what he wants. It's not that he does things on purpose, just to hear her nag – unless, of course, he does feel like he needs to hear her nag. He supposes, that is why Chi-Chi has to put restrictions on him and tell him what to do and what not to do.

'I know,' he giggles, mostly feeling glad that they are okay with each other again. 'I promise I won't ever leave in my underwear again.'

'You better not,' comes from her mouth as fond warning, before she uses her hands to remove his arms around her.

With his arms free, and more so for the clear and lovely air between them again, his eyes are very suddenly able to see the array of food on the table. Particularly, his eyes catch sight of a few boiled eggs in a bowl, and naturally, his stomach convinces his arm to reach out, so that his hand can take hold of the egg, and finally bring it where it belongs. However, before his hand can reach its mark, she slaps his hand away.

'You didn't wash your hands,' she scolds him. 'And even if you did, you need to take a bath first and then only you can eat. If Goten comes in here and find you eating before you've taken a bath, he'll think I'm being unfair with him.'

He pouts, because he knows that she won't change her mind. He sometimes dislikes how consistent she is in keeping their family functioning. For the most part, it's a good thing, because he never has to worry about disciplining Goten, and potentially end up the bad guy in Goten's eyes, but when her constancy doesn't align with his momentary convenience, he dislikes it. Not the type of disliking that makes him look at her differently, it's rather the type where he feels like it's not fair. That is, until he gets over it minutes, or even seconds later.

'And anyway,' she says, 'I wanted to show you something yesterday, but it slipped my mind.'

Forgetting all about the egg he was deprived off, curiosity overtakes him completely, so much so that he crosses all the way to the other side of the table to be opposite her, and have a full view of her from there.

'What?' he wants to know.

First pulling her left sleeve back to reveal something that looks like a watch around her wrist, she replies with, 'This.'

Looking at the watch, he starts to feel a sense of disappointment in himself for having aroused excitement together with his curiosity. Now he knows that he should've just waited for her to show him, and then decide on how to feel about what she showed him.

'You bought a new watch?' he wonders.

It's not that he'd been expecting something extra special, considering that Chi-Chi doesn't delight in greatly luxurious things –even being a princess by blood, although, a watch?

'It's not a watch,' she answers him. 'It's like a phone, and Whis gave it to me.'

Whis?

He doesn't know if he imagined hearing the name, just so he can have an excuse to have this internal twitching feeling, but he does know that the feeling is real. Very real.

Whis what?

Seriously, he doesn't know if he heard correctly, or whether he created the words that he thinks came out of her mouth, but he does know that he doesn't like the idea of Whis giving anything to his wife; real or made up.

Whis is doing _what_ now? _Giving things to his wife_?

'Why?' bitterly comes out of his mouth.

The bitterness in his tone, could be from the fact that he's currently looking at the watch-phone, or simply from the sourly unpleasant taste that comes from knowing that Whis is trying way too much to be a part of Chi-Chi's life, the way no one in Goku's circle has even attempted to do, ever. What he is three hundred percent sure of, is that he doesn't like that watch-phone on Chi-Chi's wrist.

'Because if I need to talk to him,' she casually replies, 'then I have a way.'

Chi-Chi…

He feels the twitching within him start to convert into spasms, the transformation caused by how easily she's talking about something like this to him. She shouldn't use that tone with him when talking about Whis, because it makes him want to… well… he doesn't know.

He forcefully tears his away from the thing around her wrist, to eye her carefully. Why would she need to talk to Whis again? Wasn't once enough? What more could they have to talk about?

Man, he really wants to be upset right now. He wants to badly kick something, except, the promise that he made to her yesterday, is still clear in his head. If he does something stupid like get upset, Chi-Chi will probably think that he doesn't trust her enough to let her have a friend.

But man, why does that friend have to be Whis? There are probably billions of people on Earth, so why does she even want a friend who doesn't even live on Earth?

'How?' he wants to know, hoping that he doesn't sound funny to her.

With a small smile, she starts to tell him that, 'He said the purple button is for him, and I just press it.'

Impulsively, long before his brain can think, he bends over the table to reach over to her wrist and push the button. Chi-Chi's surprised scolding of, 'Don't press it!' reaches him too late. Too bad he doesn't feel bad about pressing the thing.

'Hello?' instantly sounds on the other side, in Whis' cheery tone.

He wonders, is there ever a time when Whis isn't smiling or calm? It's kind of irritating, that he can just be apparently 'cheery' all the time. He never knew that he could dislike that about Whis…

'Whis?' Goku calls for confirmation, even knowing that it's the angel on the other end of the line.

Having rounded the table to be closer to this… crime taking place in his own house, Goku doesn't just stop at calling out the other man's name for confirmation, he goes further by hastily gathering Chi-Chi's wrist in his hand, to have the watch-thing close to his visual watch.

'Look what you've done, Goku,' she scolds, at the same time trying to tug her wrist free. 'You shouldn't have done that. You can't just disturb people as if they have no duties.'

To mirror her verbal scolding, she firmly clutches the skin of his cheek between her thumb and index finger, to pull his cheek. For how sharp the attack is, he winces just enough to cover for the time that he thinks it will take for her to let his cheek go, but surprisingly, she doesn't let him go.

'Ow, ow, ow,' he complains in a funny sounding voice

Chi-Chi's physical strength is nothing compared to his, not on his worst day, but there are certain things that she can do to his body that _actually_ hurt. Like when she pulls his cheek, she does it pretty well. Even a punch from Lord Beerus wouldn't have hurt like this. And when she ignores him, choosing to apologise to Whis instead –What in the world? He's the one who's got a stinging cheek, why is Whis the one getting an apology?- it seems to hurt even more that she's pulling his cheek.

'I'm sorry, Whis,' she says to her wrist in his hand. 'Goku's feeling a little excited this morning. We didn't mean to bother you.'

Maybe she didn't mean to bother Whis, Goku thinks, feeling a frown form on his face, but he sure meant some sort disturbance when he pushed the purple button. And for the love of something, why is she using that comfortable tone with Whis?

Oh, man, he so doesn't like this! He's heard Chi-Chi talking to all of her friends, and she's never sounded so… like she's letting go, and just being in the moment.

'It's quite all right,' the angel happily replies. 'I don't sleep remember, and it's much too early for Lord Beerus to be awake.'

How he wishes Lord Beerus was awake! He bets that Whis wouldn't be talking to Chi-Chi freely like this. From what he remembers, Lord Beerus wasn't all that keen on Whis hanging around Chi-Chi either. Hmm, now that he's remembering this, maybe he could talk to Lord Beerus about Whis.

'Oh,' lightly exclaims, again speaking into the thing, 'how I wish I was you. I could get so much done in the house without nagging while I do.'

'How interesting,' Whis on the other end seems to be musing, 'because I would _prefer_ the nagging. Lord Beerus is such a grouch, and lazy too. He's no fun at all. Perhaps we could trade places for a day.'

Huh? What? Whis, take Chi-Chi's place in their home? Like a swap? While _that_ idea does have immediate advantages, strength and training related (and travel), no. Just no. Just absolutely no.

'Chi-Chi…' Goku testingly makes his presence known, because it seems to him that they've forgotten that he's here too.

'Perhaps,' she agrees thoughtfully, simply ignoring him again, 'but I don't know if you'll survive my boys. Goku… well…' she pauses to let out a sigh, 'you know the little bit you do about him, and then there's Goten. Goten's so full of energy and mischief and words…. And speaking of Goten, he asked me what I would do with you as my friend. I told him we would talk, but do you have any ideas?'

Awg, this Chi-Chi. She's talking to Whis like this. Why? It's like when she's nagging at him, when she allows the words to flow out of her mouth as they are in her heart, in the assumption that he's keeping up, and she doesn't have to wait for him to catch up. Only, right now, with Whis, she's not nagging, and that's what's so disturbing to him. And then, she's really ignoring him and discussing Goten with Whis?

'Quite a few actually,' Whis answers her.

'I remember you enjoying baseball,' Chi-Chi says. 'If you'd like to see that sometime…'

Enough!

He's had enough! He can't continue to be ignored by his own wife, while he's right here, with her wrist in his hand, and her fingers painfully clutching his cheek! He can't continue to stand here and be forced to feel… things… about this crime going on right in front of him, and pretend as though it doesn't bother him. No, he can't do this anymore.

As possessively as he can –for his own pride, mainly- he savagely steps into his wife, to steal all of the private and personal space that she may have. As possessively as he moves into her space, he just as quickly moves his head in, to plant his lips over hers in a possessive kiss.

He captures her lips, possessively, with every intention of showing her, reminding her, that he's the one that she's married to, but not a second later than when their lips acquaint, he feels his heart quell the possessive beast within him. The softness of her lips, instantly reminds his own lips, which remind his mind in turn, that she's his gift of love, and he should treat her as such. Not as a possession that he cannot afford to lose. Although, in a sense, that would be the case, but overall, she's his gift, his very precious gift, and she makes his heart slow down just to wait for her smile and touch.

Inevitably, he softens, along with his thoughts.

His whole body, softens, because after he's felt her soft lips, she does the wondrous thing of surrendering herself into the kiss without hesitation. And then his whole body is just weakened, turned into mush just like that. But then, when he thought he couldn't dissolve any more, the index finger and thumb that had been pulling in his cheek, straighten out so that her smoothed palm is delicately resting on his cheek, getting just as lost in him, as her lips and senses are giving in to him.

In this moment, as he feels her open her mouth for him to enter if he would like, it would be pretty fitting to find triumph that she's completely forgotten all about Whis, and that she probably cannot even hear the angel speak, but he doesn't feel any sort of triumph at all. Well, yes, he feels the winning sensation that comes with him using his tongue to deliver soft strokes of massages inside her mouth, but no more than that.

Aah, the simple things in life are what make life worth living, he thinks during the kiss, however, he doesn't get to carry on with that line of thought, because Chi-Chi gradually starts to pull away from the kiss. She then softly leans towards his ear to whisper, 'Go and take a bath, and then come for breakfast.'

Possibly, it's the after-effects of the kiss, but her voice sounds so nice and fluffy, like a weightless song composed specifically for his heart's content. And it's because of this, that he eagerly agrees by nodding his head before separating himself her and beginning to walk away from the table.

But then, stopping him dead in his tracks, and stealing his 'in the clouds' feeling, her voice sounds for something disturbing to him.

'Whis?'

Hold on, he begins to frown, what exactly took place here?

'I'm still here,' Whis answers in his usual tone.

'What were you were saying?' she wants to know. 'I got distracted.'

What, did she just send him away, so that she can have her freedom to talk to Whis? What, is he just supposed to leave her talking to Whis without him there? _No_ , that is _not_ happening. And no, he's not going to acknowledge that it's his fault that she's even talking to Whis in the first place.

Oh man, what did he get himself into?

He should've said no, she and Whis couldn't be friends when she gave him the option to. Now, he'll look bad telling her that he doesn't want to leave her alone while she's talking to the angel. He feels stuck, really stuck, that he has difficulty even crossing his arms to show his emotion on the matter.

Whis laughs on the other side, 'I was wondering about something yesterday, and while we're talking now, I might as well present it to you.'

'Chi-Chi,' he cries, positively feeling kicked in the face.

Her initial reaction for realising that he's still here, is to raise both, not one, but both of her eyebrows.

'Go,' she mouths to him. 'Now.'

Okay, fine, he unwillingly accepts, he'll go. Whis may have won yesterday, and he's clearly winning today, but… his winning streak will come to an end sooner than he will ever know.

* * *

Chapter 14, **Guilty.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14, **Guilty.**

* * *

When she heard a knock on the door, she duly expected Whis to be standing on the other side, patiently waiting for her to let him in, while he wore a polite smile on his face, only, she didn't expect to find Whis looking like _that_.

Her surprised eyes (having gained proper experience over the years, courtesy of her ever-surprising husband) thoroughly scan him over from the last strand of hair shooting to the sky, to his feet, only then to relay back to her brain that no, she doesn't find his appearance appealing. _What_ in the world?

'You look ridiculous,' she tells him through upside-down curved lines as lips.

She could've greeted him first, she could've warmly invited him inside, but when her eyes saw the sight in front of her, her mind triggered a stimulus inside of her, that's conditioned to produce _only_ a single response; disapproval. The interesting thing is, though, had it been anyone outside of her family and Whis, she wouldn't even have bothered to announce her opinion. With anyone else, she wouldn't have felt comfortable to impose perfect on. That she effortlessly feels comfortable to bring Whis into her close circle, is a magnificent testament of how close they've grown since they first met.

'Do I?' Whis asks with an amused laugh in his voice, while his eyes examine his body as though looking for 'ridiculous' spots that he may have missed while he did himself this way.

Her previous disapproving frown, starts to fade off her lips, making way for a gentle smile. _See_ , she thinks as her eyes waiting for his to finish examining himself, to meet hers, _this is also why she likes Whis_. To a minimal degree, Whis has some of the innocence in his being, that's signature in her boys, which makes it nearly impossible for her to not like him. And that's a good thing.

This Whis… she continues to think while he keeps examining himself… Oh, this Whis…

Thanks to Goku, she has a friend now. A real, true friend, that she can laugh with and talk to, _outside_ the obvious topic of her husband. If it hadn't been for Goku curiously pressing the 'purple' button a week and a half ago, she wouldn't be anywhere close to thinking these thoughts. Truthfully, if it hadn't been for Goku, she doesn't know _how_ developed her relationship with Whis would be right now.

It's that she knows that as much as she needs to have a friend, she wouldn't have been as bold to call Whis first. Had it been up to her, she would've waited for him to contact her first, or _come to her first_ , and then go from there. In essence, despite what she wants and claims to need, she's still the lone wife of a Saiyan man, a wife who's been safely tucked away in the quiet of the forest, and very prone to discretion in her overall behaviour.

She has never been the type of woman to attempt even to grasp for the attention of a man for whatever purpose, or reason there may be, and so, taking that into consideration, she knows that she definitely wouldn't have made any move to reach out to Whis. She, better than anyone, has known how to stand back and wait, and sometimes not receive what she wants, thus, it wouldn't have been a sizable matter if eventually, Whis didn't come back to her.

However, fortunately, she'll never get to experience _that_ alternate reality, because her dearest husband initiated things for her, and ever since then, there hasn't passed a day when she didn't talk to Whis. On a daily basis, she's been talking to him over the communication device, while she went about doing her daily chores. Today, she feels that in ten days, they've grown quite close, all for talking over a distance and sharing the little bit of their lives that they didn't ever get to share with no one other than the people that they reside with. Again, today, Chi-Chi can easily say that their relationship has accelerated to a place where it's not just a friendship anymore, but more of a kinship.

In the beginning, when they sat down together that initial time in her home, she'd played with the idea that she and Whis were a small bit similar. She hadn't really allowed the idea to get bigger than that, because it was _only_ that one thing that they seemed to have in common, and his love for food, of course, but after daily –very lengthy- talks with him, she came to the realisation that they are not just a little bit similar, but _quite_ alike. She never would've thought it of him, seeing as he doesn't present as such at first sight, but she's come to know that he's _so_ much like her. And it's thanks to Goku, for getting her here.

'Well,' Whis finally stops with his examination, bringing his bright eyes to hers, 'I think I rather look fitting.'

Clearly, she thinks, making her gentle smile transform into a short laugh as she shakes her head.

With half of his face painted a darker, blue than the pale tone of blue that is his skin colour, a large green finger covering his left hand and an overly large blue and green T-shirt covering his upper body, that oddly paints him rather gangly, while his lower half is clothed in navy blue nylon-like sports trousers, he clearly must've believed that it was fitting to do that to himself. The only sanity that he kept about his appearance, is the usual staff in his right hand, and his unordinary hair. Although, she'll admit, on the subject of hair, she can't judge, when she has two boys who have permanently misbehaved hair.

'Where did you get all that?' she wonders, genuinely curious to know how he came to be like that.

'I did my _research_ ,' he says proudly, beaming about it too. 'I didn't want to be out of place at the game.'

Still shaking her head in disbelief, she replies with, 'Well, you look ridiculous to me. I'm surprised that you didn't do anything to your hair too, though.'

Seeing his getup now, she would've expected him to wear a cap, after he obviously did something with his hair, but no, he left it exactly as it always is. The fact that he didn't, is intriguing enough to make her momentarily wonder if there's some secret to his hair, however, it's the reaction that he gives to her statement, that sparks her interest more.

Keenly, she watches as Whis' expression transitions from proud, to something that's signifying of a reflexive response when something frighteningly horrific has been spoken. His facial muscles, more pronounced on the darker blue painted side, contract in such a way that it nearly looks like he's just barely managing to keep from throwing up. What's fascinating about his expression, is that he doesn't look disgusted, only… horrified.

'My _hair_?' he asks, sounding as disbelieving as shocked by the suggestion. 'Oh no, my hair's…' he pauses only briefly before thoughtfully finishing with, ' _very_ sacred.'

So there is a secret to his hair, she accepts. Maybe, one day she will ask him to tell her about it. For now, though, they have a baseball game to go to, and while they wait for Goku to bring Goten, she should at least invite him inside. They've been standing here at the door for far too long, especially considering how strange he looks.

'Come in,' she beckons for him to enter. 'I'm just waiting for Goku to bring Goten, and then we can leave.'

Her father was supposed to come with them, but he called around ten minutes ago, to tell her that he wouldn't be able to make it with them to the game. She can't really blame him for not being able to get away from his duties, not when her invitation to him had only been done last night. Had she told him the day before, when she took the time to find if a baseball match was going on, her father surely would've been able to make it.

'You're going dressed like that?' Whis asks with a raised eyebrow, after looking her up and down.

What does he mean? She _actually_ dressed up for this game. She opted to get out of her usual modest clothing into something else that she can't truly be comfortable in. It had been an effort to pull on a pair of black flaring jeans, instead of her usual baggy trousers under a dress. Swapping out her comfortable boots for open flat shoes, had also been a struggle for her. Just as putting on a plain grey loose-fitting top, whose sleeves only cover her arms up until just past her armpits, had been.

'What's wrong with my clothes?' she wants to know, starting to examine herself just as Whis had been doing.

Her usual clothes are items that she's learned to be agile in, moving with ease as she goes about her work and responsibilities. Thus, to trade them in for other items of clothing that she owns, but never really takes the _time_ to wear, is somewhat equivalent to taking Goku shopping with her; a bother, or a sacrifice of sorts. However, for the sake of being invested in this match, in humouring a friend, she chose to step outside of her comfort zone, which is _not_ in her nature at all. _She_ actually believes that _she's_ dressed just fine, but then again, Whis thinks _he's_ dressed just fine, so…

'It's not very sports-y,' Whis tells her, only then stepping into the house.

That may be the case, she thinks as she shrugs while stepped aside to allow him inside, but between looking presentable and ridiculous, she'd rather look presentable.

'I don't like sports,' she tells him as she pushes the door closed, 'so I couldn't possibly force myself to dress in something _that_ ridiculous.'

The only other option had been to dress in the comfort of her tight training clothes, but being a discreet woman, she couldn't bear to have all sorts of people be exposed to the delicate parts of her, and then ogle at her, the way she's seen them do to Bulma. _Over her dead_ body would she let people other than her husband be made privy to her true form and sacred parts.

'Well,' Whis says to her, 'in that case, don't cry to _me_ when you're the only one underdressed.'

Smiling, she says, 'I promise,' right before catching up with him, to lead him to the kitchen.

As long as she is happy with the way that she is dressed, no one can and will make her feel out of place. It's that, being the wife of a very strong man, a very unusual man at that, has made her develop white blood cells that no one else in the world has. In that way, she's become immune to an endless list of things, that it wouldn't affect her to be known as the only difference in the normal world, when she technically already _is_ that difference.

'If you say _so_ ,' he seems to challenge her word.

It's all in completely light spirits, his challenge, and not meant to make her feel anything other than comfort between the two of them. Rightly so, as it was designed, she doesn't feel that he's judging her, rather, she knows that he's only expressing his opinion, just as she expressed her opinion on how ridiculous he looks. There is no harm in either case, and it's because of that –also for the reason that they have to wait for Goku and Goten- that she goes to the stove to start preparing him some tea while they wait.

'Sit down,' she invites, while she opens her cupboards for a pot and tea ingredients. 'I'll make you something to drink, it'll only take a minute,' she promises.

Yes, it's the beginning of the afternoon, and yes, it's brightly sunny outside, which would disqualify the very thought of tea in any other household, but in this house, in the Son home, tea is a luxury that isn't dependant on mornings and cold weather. She doesn't like to eat much, but tea, _tea_ she indulges in at least twice a day.

'So,' she makes conversation during her search for everything that she needs for tea, 'how long did it take you to get like that?'

Not that she would like to, but she can't possibly imagine _how_ long it took to ruin himself like that. She thinks that, because as ridiculous as she thinks he looks, she can't quite say that he looks messy or dirty, which tells her that he took the time and precision to get like that.

'I didn't use my powers,' is Whis's considering reply as he removes his foam finger, 'so uh… let's see… two hours.'

'Two hours?' she sputters, partly shocked that she could get the two words out coherently.

 _That_ long?

It's only by sheer experience, that when she spins around to face him, she doesn't drop the kettle pot that's in her hands. If it wasn't for the fact that the boys in her family have infrequent habits of surprising her with their words and much more, their actions, she probably would've hit her head against the open cupboard, before falling to the ground and releasing the kettle from her grasp, to loudly drop on the floor.

In reality, it would seem like an exaggeration of a reaction to something as small as looking like Whis does at the moment, except, she is Son Chi-Chi, and well, she's part perfectionist, nearly intolerant of certain things in her presence. Although, that part of her is strictly reserved for her family. And now Whis, apparently. But _really_ now, two hours?

I took _that_ long to look _that_ ridiculous? Shouldn't looking like that come _flawlessly_ , without effort? Does partly resembling a painting with oversized clothes really require more time _than_ getting clean? Just how in the world is _that_ possible?

To answer her question, Whis eagerly nods as he starts to explain, 'I wanted this to be an authentic experience. My first experience as a spectator _is_ something special.'

Remembering how much he'd gotten into the character of umpire at the baseball match between universe six and seven, it's no surprise that he wants to enjoy his spectator role this time around too.

'I appreciate your enthusiasm,' she tells him, choosing then to return to staring on the tea, 'but that reminds me to tell you that you _can't_ use your powers at the game. You _may_ bring your staff, but absolutely no powers.'

Under no circumstances, does she want a repeat of what happened at the previous game. The majority of the people that will be at this game, are most probably people who can only appreciate the entertainment of martial arts tournaments, but have no real idea of what martial arts can produce within a person. She wouldn't like for even one person, to be exposed to the world of people appearing and disappearing, and energy balls. No, she'd like none of that.

'Yes, ma'am,' she hears him say, as her back is turned while she fills the kettle with just enough water to boil in less than a minute. 'You're quite, bossy. It's impressive, might I say.'

Hmm, she inwardly accepts. Being 'bossy' as he calls it, comes with the territory of being who she is. Still, she likes his approval of that side of her, because Goku's friends don't exactly understand why she has to be that way with all of her boys, including Piccolo. She knows that they find her crazy at times, and so the revelation that Whis, her friend, doesn't find that to be a bad thing, means a lot to her.

Feeling inspired by the last thought, Chi-Chi adds half a teaspoon of ground nutmeg, following it with two teaspoons of pure honey, into the kettle of water, to make for the perfect blend of tea. It's only once she's prepared a mug with teabag and sugar for taste, that she turns back to him.

'If you had my family,' she says, not necessarily trying to justify herself, 'you'd be bossy too. I swear, people look at my boys and think they got that way all by themselves.'

Being stern, or pushy, is something that she came to peace with a long time ago. When it produces such well-mannered and respectful (and strong) boys, she doesn't mind being the bad guy in everyone else's eyes. The people that matter, know her true heart, and they love her just as she is, and with that, she couldn't ask for more.

'That's precisely why it's so impressive,' Whis comments watching her carefully.

It's like he wants to reveal something to her, only, he doesn't look decided on whether or not to say more than he already has. If it wasn't for the sound of boiling water behind her, she would've pressed him to tell her what's on his mind. Seeing as he's all-knowing, it's very possible that he knows something that might be helpful to her.

Having turned around to make Whis' cup of tea, she first turns off the stove, and then lifts the kettle off, to pour all of the water into the waiting mug. The water fills the mug just fine, as she knew it would. She turns the teaspoon in the mug in an anti-clockwise manner to help dissolve the sugar, and it's only then, that she takes the mug into her hand, before turning to set the mug in front of her friend on the table.

'What is this, by the way?' she uses her free finger to wipe down his painted cheek at the same time that she sets his mug of tea before him.

So help him, Lord Beerus, if he will, but if he dares tell her that he's used actual paint to paint his face like this, she won't spare him a lecture on how harmful for his skin that may be.

'Hmm,' he starts to wonder thoughtfully, immediately to picking up the mug.

As soon as the mug is level to his purple lips –well the one half of his lips is really blue, due to the colouring on his face- he takes a sip from it. For a moment, he only visibly stills, with the only movement being the enlargement of his eyes. Just as she's about to ask if he burned his tongue, Whis brings the mug to his lips again, but this time, he doesn't just take a sip, he swallows down a long drag of liquid.

And then his whole expression changes, positively so.

'Hmmmmmmmmm!' he squeals in delight, making it sound like he's seeing the stars dancing in front of his very eyes. 'This is _so_ …'

'It's tea, Whis,' she says plainly, somewhat confused by his reaction, 'not a delicate dessert.'

She'd been thinking to bring him a few biscuits to weather the tea down with, but he's making it seem like his world is suddenly complete with just that one mug of tea.

'It's _wonderful_ , Chi-Chi,' he exclaims back, apparently not willing to accept that it's anything less. 'Hot and wonderful. I love it.'

To prove his apparent love for tea, he takes three consecutively long swigs from the mug, enough to leave it empty, and make an observer think he's drinking a cold beverage to help cool him off.

Really, she shakes her head silently while she studies him emptying the mug, it's like he's never had tea before.

'You must really like food,' she realises with more magnitude than anywhere in the past. 'Maybe even more than my Goku, because that's simply tea with honey and nutmeg.'

Well, yes, she prepares her tea differently, actually warming the honey and then adding a dash of nutmeg for a little zest, but all in all, it's just tea. She's never witnessed anyone so elated for drinking tea before, not one single person.

'It's wonderful,' Whis maintains, keeping the mug in his hand even though it's clearly empty. 'Nothing at all like the coffee that Bulma introduced me to. I love this tea.'

'Tea is good,' she automatically answers.

For the most part, she answered that tea is good, because she likes to drink it, but there's also the fact that Goku doesn't drink coffee. As possessively as Goku worships his body, to keep unnecessary junk out from interfering with his strength development, she doesn't buy any such wickedness as coffee for her household.

'Wonderful,' he corrects her with a satisfied smile. 'But as I was about to say, the colour on my face, is a mixture of… Let me see if I remember correctly, it was… Hmm, yes… Wheat paste and blueberry colouring. It's something that I got from my research.'

Surprised, she asks, 'Wheat paste?'

Perhaps, if he used the lukewarm version of the paste, also adding bi-carbonate acid to disrupt the possibility of the two agents creating something that's permanently hard and adhesive-like, he'd have nothing to worry about.

He nods, finally placing the mug on the table. 'With a few moderations, of course.'

'Well, I hope it washes off just fine,' she comments, still feeling a little worried that he's done something wrong.

The faint smile on Whis' face, disappears, that same face pales completely, and then his eyes pop out as he brings his fingertips to feel his skin like he's smudging something on his face.

'It might be permanent?' he asks in slight horror.

How is it possible that he could put something like that on his face and not be fully able to realise that once the game is over, he will have to remove the paint from his face? Had he really been _that_ concerned with looking the part, that he forgot to factor the removal in his preparations? It seems to her, going by the scared expression on his face, that he's really only considering that possibility right now.

'With your magical powers? No, I do not think so.'

Evidently thankful for her reminder, he loudly breathes out his relief. 'I really only wanted to look the part of the 'fan'.'

'I still think you look ridiculous,' she supplies while taking the mug off the table, 'but no more than sport ' fans' usually do. They go as far as resembling delinquents, I swear…'

Occasionally, when she happens to see a sports match being shown on the TV, she's always shocked by the number of people who dress up as a form of support. Having come from the world of martial arts, where fans didn't adorn themselves in costume-like attire, she could never get on board with _that_ form of support. To her, Whis looks just as ridiculous as the fans that she's seen on TV, but apparently, he finds that fact a sort of compliment, because she barely manages to see his usual smile return to his face as she turns away, to go over to the sink and wash the mug.

'I'm so excited!' his words follow her to the sink. 'Please tell me, do we support the same team?'

'If you want,' she answers with a nonchalant shrug, 'I don't really mind.'

The only reason that she's taking time to go to this game, is to give _him_ something that he'll enjoy. After daily talks to him, she felt that it was right for the two of them to spend some time together in person, and since she didn't want to upset Goku by bringing Whis to their home and spending time with him here, she thought of the next best thing, baseball.

'I'm rather curious to be on opposite sides,' he lets her know.

At the sink, Chi-Chi faintly smiles. He's always 'rather curious' for something or other. That part of him, makes him a tad endearing to be around.

'Fine by me,' she replies after wiping the sink dry of all traces of water, before turning to lean her back against the sink.

Narrowing his eyes, almost as though he's in disbelief, Whis asks, 'It won't affect us if my team wins and yours loses?'

'No,' she shakes her head.

Something so trivial, that she doesn't particularly care about at that, will not be reason that they have any sort of falling out between them. For someone who could take her calling his outfit ridiculous without offense, he really has no idea where there are no boundaries in a friendship and where there are.

'Good,' he happily squeals with closed eyes, to which she laughs, because it's just too funny to see him like that.

Whis finds pleasure and a reason to delight in the smallest of things, and she likes that about him. She could probably set ordinary tree leaves in front of him, season them with salt and make up something about how they work wonders for the skin, and he'll genuinely wiggle around in excited anticipation to try them.

'It's always the opposite with Lord Beerus,' he explains as he settles down from his squealing and wiggling. 'I'm afraid that he doesn't take too lightly being on the losing side. Be it anything from a bet to a cartoon, he rather tends to want to make _me_ suffer for his loses. He really has a tend-'

All of a sudden, Whis abruptly stops talking, with no warning as to why he suddenly just stopped. Confused, Chi-Chi can only stare at him with her eyebrows drawing closer together, wondering why on in the world he stopped talking, and is now closing his eyes as though he's feeling something out, without the help of his eyes. She's seen Goku close his eyes in that same way, which is how she knows how to easily identify what Whis doing.

In no time at all, her question as to why Whis just acted like that out of nowhere, is answered by the solid appearance of Goku with Goten on his left shoulder, just a step away from where she is. It's from the corner from her eye that she's able to make out her son and husband, because part of her focus, is still curiously on Whis.

'He's here,' comes out of Whis' mouth, 'isn't he?'

Only then, only after his question does Whis open his eyes to look at her directly. So, she comes to understand, that's what he'd been doing… To answer him, she shifts her visual attention to her husband on right.

'He's here,' she confirms warmly.

The sight of Goku and Goten together always warms up her insides. Just something about their identical hair and blank stares when they are together, plays with her pleasantly.

'Goku,' Chi-Chi acknowledges her husband, and then her son, 'Goten, you're here.'

'Hi, Mom,' Goten waves to her, starting to drift off Goku's shoulder. 'Hi, Whis,' he greets right before he takes off towards the heart of the heart.

'Goten!' she calls after him, surprised that he just flew off like. 'Wha-?'

First of all, she didn't even get to say hallo to her baby, and secondly, he knows better than to fly in the house. Because of this, she returns her eyes to Goku.

'He needs to use the bathroom,' Goku gently fills her in, choosing right then to cast his eyes to Whis.

Whether he meant to or not, Chi-Chi carefully observes (having followed Goku's eyes with hers), his face change upon seeing Whis. His previously blank stare, becomes a fixed stare of narrowed eyes, and the soft expression that had been on his face, turns into a hard one. She worriedly looks at Whis, to see his reaction to Goku's unspoken opinion of his presence.

Whis' first reaction, is to casually stand up from his seat, pull his foam finger over his hand, and then only verbally acknowledges Goku's presence by letting out a softly courteous, 'Goku.'

'Whis,' Goku tightly replies.

Oh dear, Chi-Chi internally sighs, making sure to close the distance between her and her husband, _just in case_.

 _Clearly_ , they _are_ testing each other. Whis is more subtle in trying Goku, than Goku is concealing in testing Whis, but she can clearly tell that the two are weighing each other. And that will only put her in an uncomfortable position, unfortunately.

'Goku,' she tries to maintain the calm atmosphere, 'you remember that Whis, Goten and I are going to a baseball game, don't you?'

Like a cheap trick of a punch just hit him right in the space between his eyes, Goku snaps her face to her, with the most appalled look on his face yet.

'That's _today_?' comes out an alarmed cry from his mouth.

Between his jump backwards and the cry that came out of his mouth, anyone would give their life, that he's surprised to hear such a thing from her. Honestly, he's acting surprised like just this morning she didn't tell him that he had to bring Goten home.

'Really, Goku,' she says disapprovingly, 'I'd swear that you were hoping I'd forget about it.'

If he had enough sense to remember to bring Goten home at the agreed time, he obviously didn't forget what she told him. Rather, what's probably really at play here, is that he was hoping that she'd change her mind or something along that line.

For a response, Goku groans uncomfortably, moving on to say, 'Don't say that, Chi-Chi,' in a hurt tone. 'It's not like that.'

'Then please explain,' she stares him down, placing her hands on her hips, 'what it's really like.'

Again, Goku groans out his response as if to say that he won't ever tell her that. She stubbornly decides that she's not going to let it go before he tells her the truth, only, she soon forgets all about that when Goten comes flying towards them, to land on the table where Whis is.

'Wow!' Goten starts, making both of his parents direct their attention to him. 'Whis, you look strange and funny. It's _so_ cool. Mom,' he turns to her, 'can I look like that?'

'What?' both she and Goku ask in stunned unison, while While simply giggles.

'I wanna look like Whis,' Goten explains. 'Can I, can I, can I, please, Mom?'

'No,' Goku instantly answers, sounding decisively final about it too. 'You know your mom doesn't like you getting dirty.'

 _Hmm?_

Unable to contain herself, Chi-Chi turns to look at her husband beside her. Is this really him, she wonders as she watches him, is this really her Goku? It's that stunned, is not even the word that she would use to describe just how blown away she is by Goku's speedy answer. For two particular reasons, she almost wants to believe that there's an impostor inside her husband's body, because no, Goku wouldn't _ever_ do such a thing as deny Goten anything.

Concerning his sons, Goku likes to play it safe, he likes to be in their good graces, and naturally, that means never putting his foot down with them, because he knows that no matter what he says to their sons, she gets the final word that determines everything. Also, he's never particularly been careful of how Goten _shouldn't_ get dirty before. Yes, he likes to find the house clean and sparkling, but that is as far as he goes with actually _doing_ something about dirt inside their home. With all this, Chi-Chi concludes, Goku's body has either been stolen by someone, or, he's being suspicious.

'Goku…' she pronounces his name with as much suspicion as she feels he's being.

'But that's not dirty,' Goten refuses to accept and then faces Whis to ask, 'Are you dirty, Whis?'

'I don't know about dirty,' Whis answers with a laugh, 'but Chi-Chi _does_ think I look ridiculous. Are you sure that you want to look ridiculous?'

'Silly Whis,' Goten chuckles, 'my mom finds everything ridiculous. She's just like that.'

Sounding amused, Whis raises an eyebrow to ask, 'Is she now?'

He then looks at her, as though silently asking her to confirm the allegation. She, in turn, looks at Goku to see what _he_ has to say about Goten's words. And Goku, seeing her eyes land on him, moves his line of vision to glare at Whis. Except, Goten chooses that exact moment to shift closer to Whis for a better examination, making Goku's eyes fall on him instead of directly on Whis. Something about that, must have instantly redirected Goku's initial thoughts, because upon seeing Goten, his face softens. Chi-Chi can only assume that the excited look on Goten's face, is the reason for the soft change in Goku.

'Look, Goten,' Goku tries to reason, 'you can wear your orange clothes, to look like me.'

'I wanna look funny like Whis,' Goten maintains, not stopping his examination of Whis' face.

'But you _always_ look like me,' Goku protests, pointing his thumb to himself.

Goten innocently just wants to look as ridiculous as Whis does, because in his child mind, it's a cool thing to be. What he can't see, is that to his father, it's more than just about resembling Whis. Goten, being a child, has no way of knowing and understanding that he's in a difficult place.

'Goten,' she tries for his attention, which she immediately gets when Goten turns away from Whis.

'Mom, can I look like Whis?'

The way that he asks that, shows Chi-Chi that he believes what Goku said about him being dirty, and her opinion on that. His manner of asking, obviously stems from the idea that she has a problem with him looking 'ridiculous and dirty'. He's only a child, he has no intention of _not_ looking like his father, more than he has the intention of _really_ looking like Whis. All that Goten wants, is to live out the idea of looking ridiculous, and it's solely for that reason, that she lets him have this one thing.

'Okay,' she answers her son, 'but only this once.'

That's the condition. He can live this one out today, however, she won't let this happen again. Not only because she'd normally not allow such things in her son, it's also because inside, she feels bad. She feels bad, because to Goku, it really is a big deal that Goten isn't choosing to resemble him. It would seem childishly senseless, and therefore not serious that Goku wants to hold onto the fact that Goten always looks like a small version of him, but it _is_ serious.

'But Chi-Chi,' Goku cries, turning his whole body to face her, 'he can't look like Whis. Look at Whis.'

Oddly, even though she knows that he didn't literally mean for her to look at Whis, she does look his way. As she looks at Whis, she starts to wonder within herself, is she didn't look at Whis, to avoid the emotion that Goku's giving off. It _is_ partly her fault that he's reacting this way, so, it could be that she's shying away from part of her responsibility in this situation. It's just as well that Goten speaks, because she was starting to consider reconsidering.

'Whis,' Goten says to the angel, 'make me look like you.'

And what happened to his manners? In wanting to look ridiculous, did he also lose the proper manners required to politely ask for something that he wants?

'Goten,' she reprimands, 'is that really the way to ask?'

'Sorry, Mom,' he hurriedly apologises. 'Sorry, Whis. Can you _please_ make me look like you?'

'Right away!' Whis happily answers without skipping a beat. He waves his staff once around Goten, completing the action with saying, 'There you go.'

In part disbelief that he actually looks like Whis, Goten begins to examine himself. To Chi-Chi, he looks the same as Whis, from the blue colour on his face, to his clothes and even the orange foam finger. Only their hair, skin colour, and the ring around Whis' neck are different. Otherwise, they could be taken for father and son.

'Wow!' Goten exclaims, happy indeed with what's been done to him. 'Thank you, Whis! Mom can we go now? I bet me and Whis will be the funniest at the game.'

Ah, she appreciates, the mind of a child is easily satisfied.

'Go and find a cap from your father's clothes first,' she advises him.

She absolutely can't have him sitting out in the open sun without a cap on. Keeping busy in the sun with training and playing, is one thing, but staying seated without protection is something else entirely. She will not allow her son to sit and watch a baseball game without sun protection.

'Okay.'

Goten jumps off from the table, onto his feet and then runs off in the direction of her and Goku's bedroom, leaving her with no choice but to look at her husband. The safest option, would be to distract him from Goten's new appearance, and so, that is what she does.

'Will you be fine without Goten?' she asks him.

'I guess,' Goku answers lazily.

'You're sulking, Goku,' she mutters in observation.

While it's usually positively cute when he sulks, right now it's just… She can't even complain about it, seeing as it's her fault, so again, she opts to distract him away from a potentially unpleasant line of conversation.

'I left you some dessert in the fridge,' she tells him, adding the suggestion, 'Or you can come with us.'

'No,' Goku replies too quickly. 'I think I'll just go and train with Vados.'

 _Oh no_ , she feels her spirit drop significantly, he wants to leave _again_.

She always knew this moment would come again, sooner or later. But as much as she knows and is always mentally prepared for his premature departure , it still stings that he easily chooses to get up and leave. At the moment, it stings more than ever, because they have been having the most silently intimate of quality time, alone time and family time together.

'When will I see you again?' she wonders more to herself than she's asking him.

She doesn't want him to leave, her heart doesn't want him to leave, especially since they've been having the best of days lately. She doesn't want him to leave, but in the end, she can't deny him his other passion.

With eyes shot out to show his surprise, Goku asks, 'I can _go_?'

She simply nods the answer, feeling too dispirited to say the single word that will give him the freedom that he needs to go and do what he needs to do with Vados.

'But,' he heartily objects, 'you _never want_ me to leave…' His eyes roam her face for just a second, when they abruptly cut to Whis. His countenance seems to darken as he says, 'And anyway… I didn't say I'll go _right now_ … I'm just saying that I wanna train with Vados.'

 _Would someone look at that_!

It's quite unbelievable if she wasn't hearing this with her own ears and seeing it with her own eyes. She doesn't get to think further than that, because Whis, apparently deduces the same thing she does. However, the difference between her deduction and his, is that Whis holds a hand over his mouth to muffle a laugh, which does nothing to contain the teasing sound of his laughter anyway.

'Oh my, Goku,' Whis says to him, sparks of laughter still lingering in his voice, 'subtlety is obviously not your strong point, is it? But never mind that, because now that you've brought it up, I have to tell you that you will _not_ particularly like training with my sister. I suggest that you rather _train_ with me. It would be beneficial for Lord Beerus and you equally, seeing as you both have difficulty with the idea of me spending time with dear Chi-Chi here. That way, both of you could keep an eye on me as you'd like.'

For the life of her, she cannot decide if Whis is purposely poking at Goku, or if he is being genuine. Whis likes Goku, that she knows, so he wouldn't do anything out of spite to Goku. And then there's also his angelic casual tone, that doesn't imply anything towards ill will , so… What she doesn't know, is what _this_ that came out of his mouth now, is meant to be taken as.

The only thing that she's certain to her grave about, is that _if_ Whis places Goku in too uncomfortable a position, he'll _have_ to leave. Friend or not, her boundary is her husband, and if any god, giant or gnome tries to cross that boundary, she'll have them out of her home faster than a single blink can complete its journey.

As she hasn't decided on how to see Whis' words, she looks to her husband to lead this conversation. Plus, not actively being part of the conversation, gives her a good angle to observe and judge from, in order to reach the verdict.

'Goku,' she simply says, knowing very well that he'll understand that she's telling him to take charge.

Briefly nodding to show her that he understands, he goes on to soberly tell Whis, 'No, thank you.'

' _My_ ,' Whis observes with a drawl, not doing anything to conceal his rolling eyes, 'you're _quite_ like Lord Beerus indeed. That stubborn attitude of yours. Honestly.'

'I am _not_ ,' Goku heatedly retorts.

To that, Whis tiredly sighs. 'Listen, Goku, I refused to train Lord Beerus, but if you come along, I'll train him as he'd like. It would be for a common purpose after all, with the two of you.'

'You refused to train Lord Beerus?' Goku questions, giving off the signs of a puzzled person. 'Aren't you his attendant? Aren't you supposed to do what he says?'

That's a good question, Chi-Chi thinks. Although, clearly, there must be a reason for why Whis refused. She's not taking his side, however, if this Lord Beerus is really anything like Goku, Whis would be well within reason to draw a line at times.

'Well, yes,' Whis carefully answers Goku, 'I am. _However_ , the determining difference between what Lord Beerus wants, and what I'll oblige with, is measured by the one of us who overpowers the other. I could, if I _wanted_ ,' he continues thoughtfully, 'make Lord Beerus serve _me_ , however, I serve him as is my duty. Don't you forget that, Goku.'

Was that a subtle warning from Whis? From the observing angle, it didn't necessarily sound like a threat to her. It sounded more like distribution of information that had been unknown previously. Although, when she looks at Goku and finds him clenching his jaws, she can't help it wonder if Whis had somehow been implying towards a warning of some sort.

Maybe Whis is deliberately poking fun at Goku… She's thinking this, because an unbothered, yet knowing smile adorns Whis' half dark, half pale face, unmistakably meant for Goku.

'Oh,' Whis evenly says, 'but I don't think you would forget it, seeing as you're in the same boat as Lord Beerus in that aspect _too_.'

'Whis, I'm going to train with Vados,' Goku announces as a matter of fact, completely ignoring everything that the angel just said to him.

'Suit yourself,' Whis shrugs, showing no emotion about it. 'I'll ask Vegeta then.'

'Do that,' Goku replies, almost as emotionless as Whis.

Dear someone, Chi-Chi sighs heavily, this will never end. Not unless she pulls out the brakes for the two of them. If she lets the two of them continue as they are, she's pretty sure that Goku will be the first to crack. Being in a situation that he's not overly familiar with, will be his downfall, leading him to crack, and she would rather that he _doesn't_ lose himself like that.

Goku can only best compose himself in an environment that he's familiar with. This situation with Whis, is territory that he is just beginning to step into, and because of that, the risk of him not being able to control his emotions, is greater. If she allows the two of them to carry on conversing, it might end in Goku's judgment getting clouded, and then he'll impulsively attack, only to sincerely apologise later, after the deed has already been done.

'That's enough,' she sternly says to both of them. 'Goku, if you want to train with Vados, you can go, but don't stay away too long. Whis,' she moves to him, and then places her hand on his forearm, 'we need to go. Will you get that bag of food into the car, please?' she points to the packed bag on the side of the kitchen. 'I'll get Goten and then we can leave. Goku,' she looks over her shoulder at him, 'you're coming with me.'

Before she goes to this baseball match with Whis and Goten, she has to 'talk' to him. She has to appease him gently, so that they are once again on the same page as they've been ever since she told him about the baseball game. The dessert in the fridge and a quickie of a tease for _much_ later should do the trick…

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

'How sad that it's over!' Whis laments dramatically, using his foam finger-covered hand to cover his face, for the effect that his dramatic cry didn't produce.

He's something else, Chi-Chi looks at him, partly intrigued. She's not sure whether to laugh or shake her head at him. He's such a wonder, a strange wonder that she really likes, because that is who he genuinely is. Though undecided on how to respond to his comment, in the end, she convinces herself to just go with it; to follow with his line of dialogue.

'Why, because your team lost?' she presses, watching him closely. 'Or because you have no excuse to keep eating anymore?'

His immediate giggling, and refusal to bring down the foam finger from his face, is proof enough that she caught him out, red-handed even. Honestly, every time that he deemed something eventful happened in the field, he would reach his hand into the bag of food that she'd prepared for the match. He used _every_ small and big opportunity that happened in the field, as means to getting something into his mouth.

'I did enjoy the game, though,' he sincerely tells her, letting the large finger down at last. 'When is the next one?'

The next one? Oh gosh, no, the thought makes her shudder, that she even turns away from him, to look at the packed field below them. The game just ended some minutes ago, and there are more people down there now, than there had been when the match was going on. She supposes that some fans went down there to congratulate the winning team.

'Hopefully not soon,' is her answer.

The noise. People throwing food around, actually wasting food. The very physical restlessness of the spectators. The whistling and obnoxious singing, are things that she can do _without_ in her life. Her quiet mountain life, has taught her to find joy in the great simplicities of the world, and so, she doesn't need over stimulation of any sort, nor can any such stimulation produce effect in her.

The only upside of having come to the game, is that Whis really got into the spirit of it, and then infected Goten to get into the spirit of the game with him. Together with the crowd, they sang here and there, and they yelled here and there. Whis even whistled a few times.

Although she doesn't really share his love for the game, she can honestly say that she likes that nature about him. She likes that he can just adapt into any situation and fall into ease with his surroundings, no matter _what_ they are. Not once during the game, did he reach his hand out to summon his staff to appear. And the best of all, is that he ate to his heart's content. He really savoured every bite of food with an appreciative sound in his throat, and like that, she couldn't ask for a better friend.

' _I_ hope soon,' Goten gives his input from her right side. 'This was so much fun. Woo hoo! I can't wait to tell Trunks! Mom, can I go to Trunks?'

She's about to say that he should go home to wash up first, but then she realises that him looking like that, is part of what he wants to narrate to Trunks and brag about. Oh well, she resigns, if he already looks like that, she might as well let him live out his glory while he can.

'Oh,' Whis exclaims, not allowing her the time needed to reply. 'I have an idea. Since _I_ need to ask Vegeta to train with Lord Beerus, let's _all_ go over to Capsule Corp.'

'All right,' she gives in, specifically looking at Goten, 'but we can't stay long. I have so much to do at home.'

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

Being frequenters in the building, security knows all of their faces, and so thankfully, they do not have to go through the painful task of being searched and interrogated for their reason of visit. She's thankful for that, because after the high level of excitement that she endured at the game, she can't handle any more of that _kind_ of stimulus.

As they are entering through the automatic doors, Goten wastes no time in rushing off his own way, while she and Whis quietly walk towards the reception. For a regular visitor, she shouldn't have to go to reception first, but being who she is, and courtesy being what it is, it's only right that she renders the proper sort of manners when choosing to enter someone else's property.

'Good afternoon,' she politely greets the lady at reception.

'Good afternoon, Mrs. Son,' the receptionist replies with a smile. 'Your husband is in the lab with Mr. Vegeta and Ms. Bulma. Would you like me to call for him?'

Goku is here? That's news to her. When she left home, he'd mumbled something along the lines of training or going to Dende's for a visit, but nothing about coming to see Vegeta or Bulma. It initially surprises her that he's here, but when she thinks about it, it's not all that surprising that he is. He's probably the one person besides the people who live and work here, whole frequents the place most.

Nonetheless, not to show that she didn't know anything about Goku being here, she arranges her face into a poker expression for the receptionist's benefit, adding a smile to compliment the expression.

'It's all right,' she tells the receptionist, 'We'll just go ahead to the lab.'

The receptionist inclines her head in a nod, causing her cut brown hair to sway as she answers, 'All right, go ahead.'

'Thank you,' Whis expresses in a singsongy tone.

Typical, Chi-Chi faintly smiles. He's so well-mannered, even when he has no need to be. At least, if he's going to be around her a lot, Goten will have one more good example of a person to go by, which is an excellent thing.

'You're always polite,' she points out as they fall into step towards the lab.

'And you…' he starts, only to pause without completing.

'I what?'

'I've noticed that you have a way of not considering yourself, that's all,' he tells her, his eyes set on her even though they are still walking.

As a response, she can only smile, because that's partly true and untrue. The explanation will have to wait for another day, perhaps even wait for a talk over the device around her wrist, since she doesn't feel like getting into that just now.

'Should I take that as you refusing to talk about it?' he asks knowingly.

'For now,' is her answer, before pointing to the door on his immediate right. 'We're here.'

'You're an imbecile, Kakarrot!' Vegeta's outrage greets them before they even step inside the lab.

With the door open, it's not a surprise that they hear Vegeta shouting at Goku. Typical Goku and Vegeta script. First shaking her head, Chi-Chi looks at Whis to communicate that she has every intention of going in there and stop her husband from causing anymore discomfort, but Whis holds up a hand to stop her.

She wouldn't have thought much of the action, if his eyebrows weren't concentrated together as though he's detecteing something, an invisible smell of sorts, in the air, that only _he_ is able to detect.

'Vegeta!' Goku cries in an offended tone. 'I just want a favour.'

'You actually want to use Bulma to steer Whis away from your wife? How cowardly for a Saiyan. We fight our own battles.'

 _Huh_?

She heard the words spoken in the conversation, and she _thinks_ she understands what they mean, essentially, it's only that she hasn't immediately begun to process them in to the right compartments. There must be some blockage of unwillingness to believe, between her auditory receptors and information processors, that's keeping her from picking an appropriate reaction. If she can call it a reaction, she only reacts by sharpening her ears to hear more.

'What's the big deal, Vegeta?' Goku questions. 'You don't even care if Whis is out eating with Bulma. So why can't she?'

He's really…? Goku's really…? Her husband's really…? Is she hearing correctly? Because she's hearing the words, and she's looking at Whis, who's got his eyes wide open, and she's starting to feel her skin tingle in an uncomfortable way, but does that really mean that…?

'You idiots!' a shrill feminine voice sounds. 'Don't talk about Bulma like she's not here! I'm right here.'

That was a relief, Chi-Chi feels herself relax just a tad bit. That shrieking worked perfectly, if only for a fraction of a second, to relieve her of the uncomfortable, stifling sensations that her body and skin are starting to entertain. Only, _that_ microscopic second of time disappears all too suddenly, leaving her just as bothered as before, when she hears the words that fill the air, in her husband's voice.

'But Bulma, you're like me, you don't even like Whis spending time with Chi-Chi. _You_ only think that she wants to get Lord Beerus to like me more than Vegeta, but it's not like that. So lighten up, it's not like I'm asking you to do anything you haven't done before.'

That… Goku…

'You have a way with words, Goku,' Bulma says sarcastically. 'It makes me want to hit you over the head.'

When they hear a clanging noise come from inside the room, Chi-Chi can just tell that Bulma threw something at Goku.

'You could've hit me,' Goku complains as if it was an accident that she threw whatever it was.

'I meant to,' Bulma angrily yells.

'He-he, you don't mean that.'

'Shut up, Kakarrot,' Vegeta growls. 'Fine, she'll do it. Whis can't resist food anyway.'

Those three… Plotting like this… Making her heart beat faster, and her skin heat up to this extent… They have no shame… The nerve of them…

'Vegeta,' Bulma stresses, ' _don't_ make decisions for me.'

'I'll do as I please,' Vegeta answers with finality.

'So, yes?' it's Goku's excited voice this time around. 'You'll do it, Bulma?'

Oh, that Goku of hers… With the way she feels ready to blow and scream at the top of her lungs until he goes deaf, he's going to get it!

'I'm impressed, Goku,' Bulma replies, her voice toning down. 'sabotage wasn't ever your thing. I never would've thought it of you.'

And that's where she's drawing the line!

She wants, _no_ , needs to be in the room, to have her eyes on her dearest Goku, when he admits that he has no pure intentions concerning her friendship with Whis, despite what he told her about trying. Swiftly grabbing Whis' forearm, she pulls him with her as she hurriedly steps into the lab. Unfortunately, unlike Bulma and Vegeta who are facing the door, she finds Goku with his back to the door, not immediately able to see her. She would've loved to see the horror on his face as he admitted his crime and she walked in.

'Yeah,' he scratches the back of his head, 'well, before Whis didn't want to be friends with Chi-Chi.'

'Who?' Chi-Chi evenly gets out of her mouth, surprising even herself. 'This Whis and Chi-Chi?'

She didn't think that the words would leave her mouth this easily and audibly, because contrary to how her outside might look well put together, her inside is currently the twin of a poisonous gale; ready to strike something down. Fast. And with great force.

As fast as lighting appears, Goku spins around to face the door. His face presents the horror-stricken picture that she has ever seen in art.

'Oh! Chi-Chi!' he cries in a high-pitched voice, uncharacteristically freezing on the spot.

I'm guilty, his face tells her. I'm so guilty and nothing in this moment, that I do, will be able to negate that guilt from me.

'Oh! Goku!' she tautly pronounces through an equally tight smile.

I'm mocking you, because I caught you, her fake smile tells him. Oh, how I wishes that I was proficient in the Kaio Ken technique. _Oh_ , _how I wish_!

If she was fluent in the art of Kaio Ken, she'd be able to _amplify_ her anger, and then add more _bass_ to her voice, to direct all of the betrayal that she feels into an _enhanced_ something that hits her _dearest husband_ with such force, that he'll still be seeing stars thirty minutes _after_ the stale cold emotion that she has to hit him _with_.

'Well,' Whis breaks the ice that's filling the room, 'this is quite uncomfortable. For _everyone_ , it seems.'

 _Uncomfortable_?

Pfft! It moved way past uncomfortable when her teeth started vibrating on their own, upon seeing her husband's horrified expression.

She has half a mind to chase Bulma out of her own lab, this minute, just so that she can have it all to herself. With her dearest husband, of course…

Remorsefully, Goku looks at her with a 'please don't explode' look on his face, that she's seen on his face countless time before now.

As if she'll fall for that!

Apparently seeing that she won't budge, he speedily moves to her, already placing two fingers on his forehead in preparation.

Great, she thinks, he's going to disappear with her again, probably to a place where she can safely detonate.

She only hopes, more than she wishes for the Kaio Ken trick, that wherever he thinks is safe to whisk her away to, has a cave large enough for her to bury him, once she's finished killing him!

* * *

Chapter 15, **Hanging On By A Thread.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15, **Hanging On By A Thread.**

* * *

It's a shame that things had to turn out this way, leaving everyone _present_ , well, as he said, uncomfortable.

Goku, though now gone from the room, had clearly looked ready to be swallowed by _anything_ that would save him from the eyes of his wife. And Chi-Chi, well, she had looked close to shrieking apart into shreds, and then attaching herself as those shreds onto Goku, to destroy him completely. Those two had been in their own untouchable level of being uncomfortable, almost completely opposite to that of the other married couple.

'Bulma…' Whis carefully lets the name slide out of his mouth, and then only looks at Vegeta to say his name in the same way, 'Vegeta.'

He would've thought that now, since the affected couple has vanished from the room, these two would stop with their shot out eyes and evident discomfort. It would've done them good to resume their usual activities, as though nothing like a plot had just taken place in this room. He certainly would've brushed it off, if they had done it in lead. Except, oddly, the priceless expressions of guilt on their faces, now that he's fully concentrating on them, make him _quite_ grateful that they haven't rid themselves of their discomfort just yet.

'Whis… Hi,' Bulma nervously says to him, following his name with just as nervous a smile.

In his usual day to day life, Whis would never dream of doing this, however, this is an oddly different circumstance, that causes Whis, for just a mere second, to close his eyes and savour this moment _exactly_ as it is.

The immeasurable look of nervous discomfort on Bulma and Vegeta's faces, the disgusting smell of conspiracy dancing in a tease around his nostrils, and most importantly, the dead give-away smile of Bulma's, are three things that he'd like to truly savour in this moment, because oddly, he _likes_ the fact that they feel like this. He oddly _likes_ seeing the confirmation their guilty shame.

Actually, no, it's not _odd_ that he likes and wants to savour in their discomfort, neither is it highly _unlikely_ of him per se. Rather, this part of himself that is manifesting at the moment, is an inherent trait within him, predominately Vados, that he incredibly dislikes and rarely displays. That is, unless he feels like he is being backed into a corner, as it just happened now.

When he remembers to consider that fact, it's quite easy to accept that it's not really odd, as he'd previously been thinking. Nonetheless, it's not a trait that he likes to display, thus, he has to let it go at once. First opening his eyes, choosing to stop savouring his enjoyment of their discomfort, Whis lets out a quiet breath through his mouth, to abandon his moment of weakness.

'Good day,' he evenly returns to the woman with blue hair.

Warranted though it would be, to concentrate on the negative energy swirling inside the lab, at heart, he _is_ who he is, and he is not that person who carries a grudge to _that_ extent of delighting in someone else's discomfort. He will not lie, the idea of producing an ambience where he makes Bulma and Vegeta guiltier than they already are, is a very tempting one in his mind at the moment, _however_ , he is who is, and nothing should change that about him; he's never let evil dictate him inside.

 _Although_ , Whis silently tilts his head to the side to consider it, _when he thinks about it_ , _this part of him that wants to enjoy more of nervous Bulma and Vegeta, is not really an evil, instead, it's more of a loyalty thing_.

While he _is_ a novice at this friendship thing, and he can't be all that certain that 'loyalty' is the adequate word to use, his servitude to Lord Beerus, has _taught_ him what loyalty is. Loyalty, has been one of the most prominent of qualities that he's had to display over the years, and so, it's only fitting for him to use this word as his reason for primarily enjoying their discomfort.

The thing is, he, unlike either married pair, felt the sort of uncomfortable where he could only sympathise with Chi-Chi, when in fact, he was in a position where he shouldn't have been taking sides in the first place. From that sympathy for Chi-Chi, for being slammed in the face with something of a dark revelation like that, grew a need to shelter her from it. And from the need to shelter her, stemmed an evil desire, to enjoy the discomfort of those responsible for putting her in that position in the first place. He knows fully well, of course, that if she chose to, Chi-Chi could defend herself, and yet, Whis would _gladly_ take this one on for her. Hence that moment of weakness.

Thankfully, though, he's overcome that weakness, and can once again look at Bulma with clean eyes. Vegeta too, of course, because what he's come to understand of Saiyans so far, is that no matter how powerful they are, their small and powerless wives, could make them bend at odd ends if they wanted to. Therefore, if plotting isn't far from Bulma's character, it would be an accurate assumption that it isn't far from Vegeta's abilities either.

'Um…' Bulma fakely chirps, 'what brings you here today?'

She probably believes that he's come here for some food, Whis thinks while he presents her a smile as an immediate answer. Not that he would blame her for making the assumption that he's here for food, not when he's always made his intentions for coming over very clear, but no, he is afraid that her assumption is off this time.

While yes, she does have a variety of delicious food and drinks that she's made him aware of, like all those meaty dishes and all those tasty drinks-

'Oh!' leaves his mouth in surprise, just as his eyes enlarge with a memory. 'My absent mind,' he nonchalantly excuses himself, placing a finger over his lips. 'I remember now, you _did_ once give me tea. It was green tea, wasn't it?'

He wonders, how in the world did he forget that? Not only had that green tea tasted good, it also wasn't that long ago that she'd given it to him. It had been around the time of the business with Zamasu and Black, which is a mere month behind them, and that had been the period when he spent the most time here on Earth. So then, how could he have forgotten that, to tell Chi-Chi that Bulma only introduced him to coffee? His mind does like to wander sometimes, it seems…

' _Huh_?!' Bulma exclaims her confusion out, making a face to match her tone.

Seeing her confused expression face, primarily makes him smile, but for some reason, it also reminds him that he's still in his baseball fan attire, and it's no longer appropriate for him to look that part. Thinking this, he holds out his hand to call his staff into his hand, and when it appears, he waves it once in front of himself, for that _Whis look_ that he is known for. The baseball fan, with his orange large hand, instantly disappears to make way for the pristine servant angel of Lord Beerus.

'That's better,' he says to himself as his staff disappears again, and his hands go behind his back as fists to rest against each other as they do.

Apparently, that about him, only serves to confuse Bulma all the more, because she says, 'You're very random, Whis. I sometimes wonder about you.'

Cutely cunning, Whis thinks with a faint smile. She's using this as an opportunity to deflect from the very obvious fact of being caught in the discussion of conspiracy, thus, painting a different picture of her to him. It's cutely cunning, he thinks again, only, too bad she made it an opening for him to take a shot at her.

'And _you're_ clearly threatened by something that has nothing to do with you,' he says effortlessly, without the slightest bit of guilt.

Guilt-free though he feels, he doesn't resist the reflex to cover a hand over mouth to smother his laugh. It's an action that he's always done whenever he said something that he shouldn't have, to make another being uncomfortable.

'But,' he says after clearing his throat for show, 'I am not here so that we can pick at each other, so I suppose that _none_ of it matters at all.'

By that, he means that her opinion of him, doesn't matter to him, just as much as his friendship with Chi-Chi shouldn't matter to her. He wonders if she will get that, but nonetheless, he smiles at the end of his sentence, to show that there is absolutely no animosity between them, before turning his attention to Vegeta.

'Vegeta, would you like to train with Lord Beerus?' he asks. 'I'm afraid that Goku refused, and that leaves you as the only other choice. Would you be interested?'

Only after the words have left his mouth, does Whis realise that he shouldn't have used that choice of words exactly. But then again, he's never really been one to censor himself, so he supposes that it's nothing new to Vegeta to hear him say something like this.

Or, Whis notices, apparently not. It doesn't appear like Vegeta didn't take some form of damage at the statement, because he looks ready to blow. Most possibly for the reason that he, Vegeta, being placed as the second choice after Goku, he wants to explode.

Oh well, the angel internally shrugs while keeping a passive face, some things cannot be avoided, unfortunately, no _matter_ how unpleasant they are in reality. The truth is, he likes Goku better, not so much because Goku is the better person between them, it's just that Goku has an open willingness to learn, and that makes him very special. Plus, being humbly good-spirited, doesn't hurt either.

'It would've benefited Goku greatly,' Whis says, specifically to bait Vegeta, 'but there's an advantage for you too with Lord Beerus. That is, if you _are_ interested.'

In the end, whether Lord Beerus' intentions aren't pure, Whis does think that keeping Lord Beerus' wishes is _important_. And even if that wasn't the case, training Lord Beerus, is something that he _has to do_. The only problem is, he doesn't trust Lord Beerus enough that he would train him _alone_.

Just thinking about training Lord Beerus alone, puts a smile on his face, because in his mind, pops up the memory of Chi-Chi telling him that she didn't trust Goku to be there when she trained. The smile on his face, is more for the similarity between them, because he has the same sentiment towards Lord Beerus. That god of Destruction, is such a lazy god, that he tends to lose interest _that_ easily, and that irks the patience out of Whis. Naturally, Whis has all the patience in the universe, only, he would simply not like to use that patience on Lord Beerus when it comes to training.

'Fine,' Vegeta begrudgingly agrees with no further pushing.

Hmm, that's interesting, Whis can't help it think. The fact that Vegeta didn't need any more subtle hints to push him to wanting to train with Lord Beerus, is quite interesting. But then again, he did catch that surreptitious look that Vegeta gave his wife, and the bare nod that his wife showed him right before his answer, therefore…

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

Upon appearing on their own planet, Whis immediately spots Lord Beerus.

'Well,' he observes to himself, not paying any mind to whether Vegeta hears him or not, 'it was to be expected.'

Lord Beerus wouldn't have done anything other than take the time to wait for his return here. At least, the comfort this time, is that he's not pacing, which is a _colossal_ difference. It must be that he recently woke up, and thus, hasn't been waiting that long to make him start pacing.

'Lord Beerus,' he greets with a polite bow of his head.

He then corrects himself, to look the god right in the eyes, from the distance that that he is. It's not a surprise to him, that Lord Beerus is looking back at him, with a sour glint in his eyes.

'Whis,' Lord Beerus immediately starts, 'I will no longer tolerate you leaving this planet without me.'

Whis barely contains a sigh from leaving through his mouth.

Over the millenniums, Lord Beerus has verbally given him a list of things that he would no longer tolerate, only to change his mind a few seconds later. This pattern _never_ gets old with him, so, really, no one can blame Whis for wanting a _change_ in his routine. When considering the monotonous game that he's come to live by every second of the godly year, it's only fair that he's allowed a little room to wiggle if that's what he feels like.

Nonetheless, his role at the moment, is to say his part of a reply, because it goes without saying that Lord Beerus wants one from him, otherwise, his silence would irritate the god to think that he is speaking to himself, and then… Already being on his feet, Whis starts to make his way to where Lord Beerus is, but instead of stopping there, he goes further, to randomly start admiring a single flower just ahead of Lord Beerus.

'Then perhaps you should give up sleeping altogether,' he mutters as he walks past the god.

'What was that?' Lord Beerus dangerously demands, probably turning on the balls of his feet to face him.

'I said, I brought Vegeta to train with you,' Whis says, absently gesturing behind him to Vegeta who he left behind.

As though he swallowed something that he shouldn't have, Lord Beerus bewilderedly asks, 'Vegeta?'

His back is to both of them, but somehow, he still knows that Lord Beerus turns in his spot to look at the said man, that was brought along to the planet. Clearly, Lord Beerus had seen Vegeta, but it's a wonder that he didn't say anything about it. Usually, that would've been the first thing that he noticed and pointed out aloud.

'You did want me to start training you again,' Whis calmly supplies, ' _did you not_?'

His blue hand carefully reaches out to touch the flower, except right before his hand makes contact with the beautiful plant, the flower happily sways from side to side, to show its gratefulness for the little healing that he provided to it. Oh, how he truly loves being helpful where he can…

'But with Vegeta?!' the booming voice of Lord Beerus interrupts his happy moment with the flower. 'And besides, you refused that time, so do _not_ for a second think that now since you are bored, I will entertain your wiles and whims.'

What a childish god he is! Honestly.

Right now wouldn't be a bad time to pull a leaf from Vados' tree, Whis ponders thoughtfully. It would effectively squander this whole argument, if he just tricks Lord Beerus into believing what he wants him to believe. But no, that is who he is, he is not Vados.

'As you wish,' he lightly agrees, the bigger part of his attention returning to the dancing flower. He touches a light finger on its head, and sure enough, a most pleasing fragrance emits from it, filling the air around them with its beauty. 'I shall then be taking Vegeta back home.'

' _What_?!'

The shriek of a question comes from both Lord Beerus and Vegeta, no doubt for completely different reasons. He couldn't be bothered by their reasons, in any case. He is, however, bothered by their behaviour, enough to visibly let out a sigh, and then step back from the flower to keep from infecting it with his own feelings of bother.

Honestly, this is quite exhausting.

'If you have no need of training,' he carefully spells out to the god, keeping his back turned, only to keep his eyes on the flower that he just helped be happier, 'then it would only be polite to take Vegeta back to his home. Where he belongs.'

In the time frame of a split second, Lord Beerus suddenly appears in front Whis, completely stepping in the space of the poor precious flower, and reducing it to something trampled and devalued. Whis is instantly keenly aware of the seething look on Lord Beerus' face, however, he is more interested in summoning his staff and restoring what the Destruction god destroyed.

Quietly, he uses his staff (carefully rounding his head and arm around Lord Beerus) to bring the flower back to what it had been, even going further and resurrecting two siblings on either side of it, to keep it company. All this, he does a safe distance from Lord Beerus' harm, of course. It makes him smile to see the flower again, and only then, does he cut his attention to the fuming god before him.

'What is it, Lord Beerus?' he asks calmly.

With teeth dangerously bared, Lord Beerus growls, ' _This_ , what you're doing… You're hanging on a _very_ thin thread, Whis…'

'Oh?' Whis raises both eyebrows, playing the part of the oblivious one.

His 'apparently simple' question, brings about the deadliest of silences, that it even seems like the air around them stops moving. If even a crack of an attempt at a sound, managed to break out in the air, the air would probably swallow it up, to maintain this _absolute_ silence, thus honouring the current temper of the Destruction god.

Anyone else, whether their body had the ability to think for itself without the brain, or not, would've automatically started trembling at the threat that the silence has designed here. Anyone else, would've been out of their mind afraid of what would come next, but he, being Whis, only takes the silence as it is; without feeling discomfort or fear.

Lord Beerus evidently catches onto his response, because he slants his eyes menacingly, to gruffly warn, 'Be careful,' right before vanishing from sight.

Lord Beerus' sudden departure, effectively breaks the icy silence that the god himself had inspired, leaving Whis to let out another sigh.

Really, there was no need for him to go that far.

A real frown, derived from a real feeling inside of him, appears on Whis' face. Lord Beerus must have the idea in his head, that he only wants an _excuse_ to return back to Earth, and there, spend his time away with Chi-Chi. As it is, the jealousy from the Chi-Chi issue alone, is enough to make him feel like Whis is getting on his last nerve and being disobedient to the core, thus silently accusing him of taking chances that he ought not to be taking.

Really, he'll have to fix things before they get _too_ far.

It had been entertaining in the beginning, but after witnessing what happened with Chi-Chi and Goku today, he doesn't want to get to that point between him and Lord Beerus. In the mind to go after Lord Beerus to fix things with him, he turns around to tell Vegeta that he should go and make himself comfortable in the room that he's familiar with, only to find that Vegeta has a shocked expression on his face.

How unexpected.

'Why that face?' he curiously asks the Saiyan.

'B-b-beerus…' comes out of Vegeta's mouth in a stutter, 'I've never seen him behaving like that with _you_. If it wasn't impossible, I think he would've destroyed you.'

That's what that expression is about? Oh, how laughable!

Whis actually starts laughing at the combination of the comedic look on Vegeta's face, and the misconception that came out of his mouth, because it all feels a joke to him. Once he quietens down, Whis arranges his voice just right enough to sound the perfect blend of amused and casual.

'You can't possibly be serious, Vegeta, can you?' he asks. 'There's _nothing_ that Lord Beerus can't destroy. Myself included.'

Like they are about to drop out of his head completely, Vegeta's eyes pop out of their sockets, at the same time that some colour drains from his face, leaving him with a rather strangely paled complexion. Hmm, he wouldn't have thought it possible of the proud Saiyan to look that level of shocked.

'He can destroy _you_?' Vegeta asks.

The way he stuttered to get the words out, Whis is even surprised that he heard Vegeta's question perfectly. Although, he doesn't know why Vegeta is surprised by this. If Vegeta's assumption had been on the basis of him being stronger than Lord Beerus, then clearly, he hadn't been paying attention when Lord Beerus once destroyed a ghost. After that destruction, Whis had politely announced to everyone that there's nothing impossible for Lord Beerus to destroy, but maybe, Vegeta hadn't been there? He can't remember all that well, anyway…

'My…' he starts to ponder the reality of Lord Beerus actually _attempting_ to destroy him, 'I suppose… that _would_ be interesting, wouldn't it?'

Like he said, there's nothing that Lord Beerus cannot destroy, with the exception of a singular thing, but pah, which constant is devoid of an exception anyway? Almost every rule, as far as he knows, has an exception, no matter how fixed it is. Why should it be any different for the gods? However, the reality of Lord Beerus actually destroying him, is a thought tickling thing that he's never thought about before.

Vegeta clearly doesn't seem to find the idea of Lord Beerus having that ability to destroy someone that is stronger than him, as he looks even more shocked than before. If not at the top of the shock radar, if there is such a thing.

'Oh well,' Whis shrugs, choosing not to dwell on Vegeta's state, 'never mind that now. Lord Beerus will cool down after a meal. Thank goodness Chi-Chi is a food goddess. Now,' he says excitedly, 'to see if her divinity in food will transform Lord Beerus.'

'You're unbelievable,' Vegeta spurts. 'Are you really _so_ calm all the time? You're worse than Kakarrot.'

Taking no offence or compliment from Vegeta's statement, Whis simply shrugs as though nothing important was said, and then moves on to ask, 'I'm going to assume that you'll be joining Lord Beerus for dinner?'

As he already knows the answer to that, Whis doesn't want for a response, rather, he vanishes to find Lord Beerus. Where he chooses to appear, just next to the widescreen TV, he finds the god watching a cartoon that he previously claimed to have no interest in. To him, that is a clear sign that Lord Beerus is not watching TV at all, more than he is sulking and being angry.

To announce his presence, Whis clears his throat, following it with, 'Lord Beerus, I believe this has gone on long enough, don't you think?'

Typically, as to be expected, Lord Beerus ignores him, closing his eyes too. With that attitude from the one that he serves, Whis is almost tempted to turn the TV off, even though no one is paying attention to it. He at least knows that if he turns off the TV, Lord Beerus will be forced to give him some sort of attention.

'Would you please look at me, while I talk to you?' he opts to get the god's attention another way. 'This is rather serious.'

He may be the servant to the god, but of all of the gods that he has served, Lord Beerus is the most decent one that he's had. Lord Beerus had started off horrible at first, but as time progressed, the true nature of Lord Beerus started to surface in the little things. For the part of the Destruction god, he had to hide his true nature, but Whis always knew… He knew it from the little things.

The loyalty between them, became a companionship of sorts and that companionship, brought about a bond between them, that he hopes to never be separated. In a way, Whis has at times considered himself the figurative older brother, to a heavily powerful little brother, who was set to be petty by design, as a calling for his job. He's always felt that it was his job to protect Lord Beerus, watch over him, to make sure that he didn't ruin things irresponsibly, and of course, mock him every now and then for laughs.

'You are _seriously_ starting to annoy me,' Lord Beerus murmurs, refusing to open his eyes.

Oh well, Whis rolls his eyes, he at least made the attempt.

'I had the displeasure of witnessing something today,' Whis chooses to continue, 'and while it is fun to indirectly tease you, and poke fun at your petty jealousy, I would rather _not_ discover that you are plotting against me.'

Lord Beerus stealthily opens one eye. 'Your preferred company is corrupting you. What reason would _I_ have to plot against you?'

Whis shrugs, 'I can't say, but it would probably be for the same reason that Goku was plotting against his wife.'

That apparently gets Lord Beerus' attention, that he sits up properly and opens his other eye too. It must just be the Goku gossip that he likes to hear.

'Lord Beerus,' Whis tones his voice to a serious note, 'if you would consider that you are hardly any fun to be around most of the time. That is, unless you are awake or not watching those cartoons of yours, which is a _rarity_ , then you would realise that for someone such as myself, who doesn't sleep, the need to branch out is quite _urgent_.'

'It's not my fault that you don't like cartoons,' Lord Beerus darkly mumbles, 'or that you don't sleep.'

There's consolation in there, Whis notes. There's consolation in the dark mumbling that he feels bad that Whis feels this way, but he will absolutely not say it aloud.

'No,' Whis agrees, 'it is not. However, like I said, if you take that _into_ consideration, you will understand why I want to have a friend outside the usual life that I have.'

Outside power levels and training. Outside doing favours and attending meetings with gods. Outside being careful, and mostly attentive to his surroundings, so that no immediate person around him is unnecessarily harmed. Outside being the servant of someone so powerful, that they could literally blow worlds away. Outside being an angel, he simply wants to be an ordinary somebody, who has a world of things to learn about.

'Consider this…' Whis picks up again when Lord Beerus only looks at him. He brings out his staff, to draw a large brightly green 'X' between him and the god.

'The letter X?' Lord Beerus dryly asks, most probably thinking that he doesn't need an education in the alphabet.

'The letter X,' Whis gently nods. 'Consider this letter X for a moment with me.'

To give him the green light to carry on with what he wills, Lord Beerus carelessly, in a dismissive way, waves his hand towards Whis. Whis grabs the opportunity at once, placing the hand with the staff behind his back and then rises his right hand to act as the demonstrative tool for his lesson.

His index finger, he uses to trace along the one diagonal line of the X as he says, 'This diagonal line, is independent of the other.'

'Relevance?' Lord Beerus boredly yawns.

'Patience,' he answers quietly, and then moves his index finger to the other diagonal line. 'This line, is also independent of the other. So, in this first stage, we learn that the two lines that make up the letter X, have nothing to do with each other.'

'Whis…'

'For purposes of this demonstration, we'll call these independent lines, Whis and Chi-Chi. Now, Lord Beerus, if you will observe that these two lines, Whis and Chi-Chi, are two separate lines, with no connection to each other, because look…' Whis pauses to use his finger to rub over the top part of the letter, and then the bottom part. 'Here, both up and down, the lines do not meet, but are separate in their own worlds. But…' this last time, he brings his finger to centre of the X, where the two lines meet, 'here, the two lines meet and they create something of great value. This meeting point, would be our friendship.'

After this piece of information, he pauses, to allow Lord Beerus the time to digest his words. He knows that the god is not slow on the uptake, it's simply just that Lord Beerus has his own manner of accepting things, and he only needs the necessary time to get it done.

'Hmm,' sounds in the air from the god, as the only invitation to proceed.

'As I was saying,' Whis picks up, 'Chi-Chi and I have separate worlds, not at all connected in the conventional sense. She doesn't live in the world of governance and meetings with rulers, just as I don't live in a world of minimally basic responsibility, and yet, in the middle where we meet, we do it only for a fraction of our lives, but soon move on to live in our separate worlds. Happily so.'

He supposes that he is making his explanation much harder than it really is, because Lord Beerus seems to be leaning more towards the irritated side, than giving off the appearance that he understands how Whis is trying to explain his relationship with Chi-Chi. Should he perhaps look for another example to give?

'That meeting point,' he tries to explain it another way, 'doesn't affect the other aspects of our existences, Lord Beerus.'

Right then, Lord Beerus gets onto his feet, to plainly deliver words that sound more like a warning than a statement, 'You missed something in your explanation, Whis.'

Intrigued, Whis curiously asks, 'What might that be?'

'The point where the lines meet,' Lord Beerus gives the answer, 'is _permanent_.'

'It is,' he fluently agrees within the second. 'However, those two lines are perfectly happy to be separate for the majority of the time. It's only that small part of their worlds that touch.'

The illustration that he is trying to paint, is that while he and Chi-Chi have that one common meeting place that connects them, it doesn't mean that they would throw away all they knew, just to be constantly connected. He really just needs for Lord Beerus to know that their friendship is not meant to be threat to anyone. Thus, the X explanation.

In truth, he's actually quite proud of the X example that he used, because it speaks of his and Chi-Chi's relationship perfectly.

'Don't be an idiot, Whis,' the god says in a loud deep tone, 'I know what you're trying to point out here. But I still _object_ , because she's beneath you. Goku, maybe, because he has that ability to keep growing, and is quite frankly foolishly entertaining, but come on, Whis, _she's_ not up to standard enough.'

'To you perhaps,' Whis calmly supplies.

It's a little disheartening that Lord Beerus is still choosing to be this stubborn, but it's not in the least surprising. He definitely just has an inexplicable liking towards Chi-Chi, although, overall, he'd like for Lord Beerus to see things from his side.

'To everyone,' the god retorts harshly and sharply looks the other way. 'I'd be the laughing stock of all the gods, if they knew that my servant is a friend of a mortal that has no significance in the realm of power. Bulma at least, has delicious food at the top of her thumb, and is quite mentally able, so naturally, I can brag about her. But this Di-Chi woman is simply beneath you, Whis, accept that.'

' _Chi-Chi_ ,' he strengthens the sound of her name, to correct the god, 'is beneath me, because she isn't advertised as Bulma is? You've never taken the time to speak to her, so you couldn't know how she is.'

Lord Beerus, just as sharply as he turned away, turns to Whis, 'Why would I need to talk to her, when that's all you've been doing for the past twenty days?'

'Nine days in total,' Whis corrects him with an eye roll, 'unless, of course, you count the day Goku's jealous curiosity got the best of him. Don't invest things, Lord Beerus, it's unbecoming of you.'

'It's an emphasis!' the god shouts. 'Surely you know that!'

Whis heartily laughs at the response. This Lord Beerus is so childish when he feels like being it. Still, he's refusing to get to the core issue of his jealousy, and using excuses to ignore it, and much rather mask it. Oh well, Whis thinks, he would've liked that his explanation helped to make Lord Beerus realise that there is no danger in him being friends with Chi-Chi, only, it seems to have done nothing to that effect.

Oh dear, what is he to do now?

'Give her a chance,' Whis finally says after his laugh, 'that's all that I'm asking for, Lord Beerus. And look, she even graced me with some food, that I know you're going to love.'

First crossing his arms, Lord Beerus lets out an unconvincingly upset, 'Hmmph.'

It's all the indication that Whis needs to know that, even though Lord Beerus is not necessarily giving him the assurance that he'll give Chi-Chi a chance, he definitely has the go ahead to start serving the food.

Whis can only hope that Lord Beerus' stomach will be enough to win him over to giving Chi-Chi a chance, because he has never really tasted anything that she's made. He can only hope...

* * *

Chapter 16, **How Bad Do You Want It.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16, **How Bad Do You Want it.**

* * *

As soon as he grabbed hold of his wife, to take her away from that hostile environment in Bulma's laboratory, he found himself in a strong frenzy of panic, that he immediately, without thinking, locked into the first form of energy that came to his mind. It probably wasn't a good idea to do that, but he really _did_ panic, that immediate coherent thought left him.

He panicked, because he thought that Chi-Chi would jump out of his reach, and that had been enough to send into serious panic mode. The thought that she would move away from him, brought one specific scenario in his head. That scenario, in turn enhanced his panic all the more, that he just acted without thinking, to make it out of there with her, before she exploded on him, in front of his friends.

Had she been about to explode at him for something simple, something ordinary, he wouldn't have minded it happening in front of his friends, but this is a different case. This case is more private and deeply settled, that he doesn't want anyone, besides him and Chi-Chi to know about. Least of all Whis.

He really, really panicked, thus, the first person that came to his mind instantly then, is the one that he's staring at, almost nose to nose with. In his mind, he knows who is standing in front of him, but somehow, his mind still tells him to blink at least two times. Blinking two times will help him be absolutely sure that his eyes are seeing what is really happening.

'D-Dad?'

The somewhat worried voice of his son, reaches past his panic, penetrating through it actually, so that he gains enough sense of the here and now, to jump back for individual space. He barely registers that he takes his wife with him as he jumps back.

'Uf!' he slightly coughs out. 'Gohan?'

Of course, he knew that it was Gohan that he came to, it's only that well… The panic that he felt, took a lot away from him. And even now, having the verbal and visual confirmation that it's Gohan, he still moves his head slowly, to look around them.

Well, he observes, they're clearly not in Gohan's house. He would've expected that on this day particularly, at this hour, Gohan would be at home with his family, enjoying time with them. Instead, he is here, at his professor's office, firmly on his feet, with a large book in his hand, for only he knows what,

'Dad?' Gohan repeats in the same worried tone from before, and then looks to Goku's left. 'Mom?'

'Hi, sweetheart,' Chi-Chi softly greets him.

It's the softness of her voice, that has Goku looking at her, because in Bulma's lab, she'd looked all but soft.

He wonders if seeing Gohan softened her, and he won't get to be on the receiving end of the strongest explosion of anger from her yet… It sure would be great if she calmed down a notch, because that would make things easier for him.

Unfortunately, though, her voice may have sounded soft, but her expression is as ready to blowing up, as it was when he fled with her. It looks like he's not getting off easy, after all. Oh man, what a bummer, he could just speak out his surrender at that realisation.

'What…?' Gohan blinks like he's feeling lost. 'What are you doing here?'

 _What are_ you _doing here_ , is what Goku means to ask his oldest son, but what comes out of his mouth is, 'Sorry about that.'

The apology, he silently thinks, must be the result of Chi-Chi's unwavering fury, and the worried look on his son's face, because that sure isn't what he meant to say. Although, now that he's said it, it's only fitting that he apologises to his son. Had he thought better about his impulsive decision to come here, Gohan wouldn't have been dragged into something that has nothing to do with him.

'Okay,' Gohan nervously accepts, his eyes pointedly on his mother, 'but… Did I do something wrong?'

Goku quickly releases his hold on his wife, to jump between Gohan and her. He can understand how Gohan would mistake their sudden appearance in his professor's office, and the look on his mother's face, for a boxing in of sorts, for something wrong that he did.

'No, no, no. It's nothing like that,' Goku wildly waves his open palms towards his son.

Apparently, Gohan doesn't believe him, because he moves his head to look around him, to his mother. Figures, Goku thinks. With the frantic way he's acting, even he wouldn't believe himself, if he was in Gohan's shoes.

'Mom?' Gohan stammers. 'Did I do something wrong?'

Of course, he wants to hear that answer from Chi-Chi herself, Goku mentally slaps himself through briefly closed eyes. It makes perfect sense that Gohan wants the confirmation from his mother, because one, she's the one in the entire family who always has the final word, and two, she's the one who looks livid.

'Gohan, can you leave?' softly comes out of Chi-Chi's mouth, instead of assuring Gohan that he did nothing wrong, to be cornered at his workplace like this. 'I need to talk to your father.'

Yikes, Goku swallows down hard, partly glad that his back is turned to her. Man, he's going to be in so much trouble.

But, he tells himself, this is his fault, so he has to man up to it and take it as he should. With that thought, he rotates on the spot to look at his wife, but he doesn't do it fast enough to miss the look of horror that crosses Gohan's face.

'But,' he hears Gohan start behind him, 'I'm at work. I have work to do for my professor before Monday.'

Gohan is too polite to tell them that _they_ should leave instead, so his alternative to that, is saying it another way. Rather than coming right out and saying that they should leave, he is telling them that he _can't_ leave, which is essentially the same thing, just different in a way.

'Chi-Chi, maybe we should go somewhere else,' Goku nervously tries to suggest.

A single fiery look from her, is all it takes to have him slightly cower in his position, before he takes a step backwards. His step, leads him to bump into Gohan, however, he isn't too worried about having hurt Gohan, more than he's worried about Gohan leaving him alone with her. It's not that he's afraid of her, it's only that…

'Gohan,' Chi-Chi says, sounding suspiciously too sweet, 'I'm proud of you for getting this job…'

'Thank you, Mom,' Gohan humbly accepts from behind him.

'But…' Chi-Chi says, only to trail off.

Aha, Goku silently thinks when she pauses, he knew it. He knows his wife, he knows her very well, and no, she wouldn't just say something like that, and leave it there. The preceding look to the previous statement, gave him proof enough that it would only be a matter of seconds, before Gohan did what she wanted.

The other thing that he knows about his wife, is that she's not going to finish that recent sentence, because it's not about Gohan. Had she been angry with Gohan, she would've said exactly what is on her mind. For now, though, Gohan is only caught in the wrong time, so she will not attack him with her words.

'Gohan…' Goku says warningly, to prevent his son from saying anything that will direct her anger to him as well.

Basically, what he wants to communicate to his son, is that he thinks it's safer for Gohan to risk losing his job, than to make his mother angry right now. He only hopes that being as smart as he is, Gohan picks that up, or at the very least, interprets his mother's silence enough to know what he should do.

'All right,' Gohan sighs behind him, giving off the sign that he understands perfectly. 'I'll go and stretch my legs outside.'

Chi-Chi's face breaks into a thankful smile for but a moment, only to return to its fuming state as they listen to Gohan walk out of the office. Once Goku hears the door close behind him, he immediately starts to apologise to his wife.

'Chi-Chi, I'm sorry,' he desperately cries with no time to spare. 'Please don't yell. I know that I did a bad thing, but I'm _really_ sorry.'

There's no point in delaying his apology, and pretending to not know why they're here, when she's clearly not at peace with him. Trying to ignore the fact of the matter as it is right now, between them, will only further anger her, and no, he _cannot_ risk that.

'Goku, did you eat the dessert that I left for you?' she tightly asks.

Her angered expression, the tight way that the question left her mouth, and the randomness of it, has him momentarily confused. A little stunned, to be honest. The way she looks ready to blow, shouldn't have brought that question from her mouth. He thought for sure that she would yell at him and not immediately accept his apology. But here she is, asking him about dessert? Huh?

And, hey, he frown subconsciously, now that he's thinking about it…

That's not fair, she can't look at him with _that look_! She can't look at him like he did something wrong, when she _clearly_ told him that he could have the dessert. She can't tell him to do something, and then get mad at him for doing it! It's no fair at all.

'You said I could have it!' he cries accusingly, just stopping himself in time to not raise an accusing finger at her.

'Did you eat the dessert?' she insists for an answer.

It's a wonder that her angry questions don't carry the thunderous volume that they usually have when they are at home, when she's angry.

'Well, no,' he answers, looking down between them. 'I didn't go home after we left. But Chi-Chi, you said I could eat it.'

'You see!' she cries accusingly this time, making him bring his head up to look at her.

What _is_ she talking about? Why is she suddenly sounding accusing? What did he miss?

'See what?' he wants to know.

'I wanted to make an example with the dessert,' she explains, her tone something less than accusing, 'but this is even better. I didn't know that you didn't have it, so I wanted to make a comparison with that, to how I feel. Your reaction just now, is exactly _how I feel_.'

Since she stops talking right there, Goku finds that he's left with no choice but to process what she just said.

'I feel lied to, and deceived, Goku,' she lets him know, stepping closer to him. 'You said that I could have Whis as a friend, only to find _this_ out. It's like me telling you to have the dessert in the fridge, only to look at you accusingly while you eat it, like you're doing something wrong. It's not nice, Goku.'

Oh no, his heart sinks.

The fact that she drew the comparison out loud, truly makes his heart sink so much deeper than he thought possible. With an example like that, he's easily able to know exactly how it feels like, and obviously, she knew that about him, which is why she thought to use that example in the first place.

Oh no, what has he done? Not only did he mess up, he also got a small glimpse of how it made her feel when he messed up.

'I know,' he grunts uncomfortably, hanging his head to hide his eyes from hers.

'I gave you that choice to tell me _no_ ,' she says, no longer sounding angry, rather tired, 'that I couldn't be friends with Whis, but you said _yes_. That's what makes me _angry_ the most, Goku.'

'I'm sorry,' he manages to get out of his mouth, only, he doesn't manage to lift his head up.

The shame and guilt that he feels within, is so consuming and rooting him into this pose, with his head hung low, that he can't even will himself to want differently.

He all of a sudden feels like something precious has been taken from deep inside of him, and he can't react fast enough to grab it, and put it back where it belongs. This sad reality, leaves him with no will to want differently, than posing there like one who humiliatingly just lost a battle.

He swears, if he could reverse time, he would. If he could take back his actions, even more, he would. He swears he would.

'I'm sorry, Chi-Chi,' he gets out of his mouth again, still keeping his stance.

'That's not enough,' hollowly reaches his ears.

The sad thing isn't even that her response sounded near-lifeless, it's how even in its near-lifelessness, her response thoroughly pierces his sunken heart.

'I knew that you wouldn't be completely okay with it,' she carries on in that tiredly hollow tone, 'but you said that you would try. So what happened, Goku? What is it, don't you trust me to be honest with you?'

Okay no, whatever shame and guilt he feels, no matter how unworthy he thinks of himself right now, and in spite of his somewhat mangled heart, that is one accusation that he will not take. Least of all, with his eyes and head cast down, away from her. If there's one untruth in the world, it's that he doesn't trust her.

She's the only person, adult rather, apart from Gohan and Piccolo that he can really trust to understand him, and be there for him, without question. No, he more than trusts her, and will not take that accusation at all.

Whipping up his head, to look her squarely in the eyes, he firmly tells her, 'I trust you.'

He made sure to wipe all of the shame out of his voice, so that he doesn't come across as someone who isn't sure of what he is saying. The way he needs her to understand that he trusts her, he had to cast all of his personal feelings aside ,and then tell her in a stern proclaiming voice, that he trusts her, so that not even her will to doubt, would doubt him.

'Then what are you trying to do?' she asks, spreading her hands on either side of her, to show her confusion. 'I wonder Goku, now I'm starting to think… Is that why you want to train with Vados? You want _me_ to feel what you feel?'

What?

He's not sure if he's making a face at that last question, but he hopes that he is, because that is the most vindictive thing that he would _never_ , _ever_ , in his life, do. He's truthfully shocked that she would even consider to think that. Why and how can she think that?

'No,' he drags the word to emphasise just how incorrect that assumption is. 'Why would I want you to feel what I feel? It's not nice, Chi-Chi. I would never want this for you.'

Not even at his angriest would he want her, the hand that holds his life, his sustenance, to feel like this, like he feels. There would be no benefit in it for either of them. And not only that, but considering all the worry and longing that she experiences for him and because of him, why on Earth, would he want to add onto it? But even if all that isn't enough of a reason why he wouldn't ever want something so horrible for her, there's one profound reason that he wouldn't deliberately want that feeling for her. That reason is that he loves her; he just loves her and no, he wouldn't think to hurt her in that way.

Yes, he'll admit that he did and does want Whis to feel some type of uncomfortable way about his wanting to training with his sister. In fact, if he's being honest, all that Vados talk was honestly just for Whis to speak out against. Nothing about Vados was ever meant to stir vile emotions in his wife. No, never, not in his Chi-Chi.

'Yes well,' she stoically answers like she's not convinced by his answer, 'after all this, I'm not so sure what to believe about you anymore.'

That hurts. That just hurts. There's no other way to think of it, other than it just hurts.

'Please don't say that,' he begs, almost too quietly. 'I said I'm sorry.'

Shaking her head, Chi-Chi waves her hand away. Whether she does it to disregard his plea and apology, or to completely disregard his presence, he doesn't know. All he knows, is that it hurts just as with her words, to have her act that way with him.

Man, he knows _now_ that he messed up big time, but it being this way, hadn't been his intention.

He didn't think that she would feel betrayed, and ready to question his true intentions, as if she doesn't know the kind of man that he is. It hurts to know that she's suddenly putting him in a corner with common ordinary people, that aren't part of her family, or don't live with her. It's really not nice, to suddenly feel like she doesn't recognise him as her husband anymore.

'Maybe you _should_ go and train with Vados for a while, Goku,' she finally says after a while.

Even she sounds sad to say it, almost as if she didn't expect herself, of all people to actually say that and mean it wholeheartedly. Previous experience has taught him that that's her way of saying that she doesn't want to see him at the moment. They've had moments like this in their marriage before, but this is different. Completely different.

'Chi-Chi,' he tries, but she shakes her head to stop him from saying more.

'I'm going to my father,' she says and then just like that, begins to walk past him.

She just leaves with that one sentence, that it feels like a bad joke for a second, before it securely sinks in for him, that he's in such a hole now.

Wow, he blinks, they didn't even talk, _really_ talk. She didn't even ask him and interrogate him about his reasons for all of this.

Feeling paralysed, he's only able to let her leave, while he stands there. He does graciously manage to turn around to see her walk off, however, he can't do much more than watch the space in front of him. He can't call after her. He can't go after her either, he can only continue that way, until sometime later, when Gohan enters the office.

'Dad?'

For Gohan's sake, he snaps himself out of his mini trance. He knows that it wouldn't be wise to worry Gohan, not when he has work to do. Gohan's work is so important to him, that worrying about his parents may just distract him from finishing it. He doesn't want that for his son.

'What is it, Gohan?' he asks, barely fixing his voice to sound normal.

'What happened? Mom doesn't look like herself.'

There's no point in lying, Goku tells himself. If Gohan saw Chi-Chi for himself, and she didn't tell him what's wrong, then he obviously won't believe that nothing is wrong. Not considering how angry Chi-Chi had shown up, only to ask Gohan to leave, so that they could talk alone.

'Chi-Chi's disappointed in me, I think,' he confesses sadly. 'I think that she doesn't like me.'

She'd started off angry yes, but somewhere between words leaving their mouths, and examples being made, her anger faded into a thick smoke of disappointment, leaving her to feel like she'd been let down by the one that she trusted the most in the world.

'What did you do?' Gohan's forehead creases with confusion and curiosity.

Quickly, Goku shakes his head to dismiss the question. The truth is, it's embarrassing. This son of his, looks up to him, and he can't confess of something like this to Gohan. He doesn't want Gohan to not like him too, like Chi-Chi doesn't. Besides, this problem is between him and Chi-Chi, and they've always kept their children out of things that weren't necessary for them to know and see.

'Uh…' Gohan starts, scratching the side of his face. 'I'm not going to pry, but do you want Mom's forgiveness?'

Because he feels like the appropriate words can't even come out of his mouth, he nods that he does. Just what type of question is that anyway? Of course he wants Chi-Chi to forgive him. If he had the Super Dragon Balls with him now, he wouldn't even let a dead friend that has to be resurrected, take that wish away from him.

'Then you need to ask yourself how bad you want Mom's forgiveness,' his son calmly tells him. Oddly, Gohan even giggles lightly before continuing, 'Sometimes, Videl is upset with me, and I ask myself that same question. I usually do something romantic for her, and then apologise sincerely. Depending on how badly I want her forgiveness, I use that as a measure.'

Something romantic? For Chi-Chi?

'Thank you, Son,' Goku appreciates sincerely, with a hand on his son's shoulder.

He has to do something romantic for Chi-Chi, huh? He's not sure about that, though… The apologising sincerely part, he can do, _no problem_ , but the romantic thing part…

Oh gosh, what in the world is he going to do, that would work on his wife?

* * *

Chapter 17, **I Was Wrong.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17, **I Was Wrong.**

* * *

Naturally, from Gohan's office, the first place that he heads to, is home. For someone like him, there wouldn't have been a contest of _where_ to go anyway, because he only ever goes to his friends' places, when he wants or needs something that he can't get at home. It's quite something, now that he's got it in his head; to think that his friends hate that about him, while Chi-Chi _loves_ that about him.

It's interesting that, where his friends hate that he only shows up on their doorsteps when he wants something (never really _to just_ visit them), his wife has always expressed how much she loves the fact that when he's home, _he's simply home_. She's told him that she loves that when he's back from one 'adventure' or other, _he stays at home with them_ , and that it's rather his friends, who have to come and _find him_ , if they want his company. That Chi-Chi loves that about him, is part of the reason that he makes his time at home count, and it's part of the ultimate reason why he couldn't have thought to go to another other place at a time like this.

He'll admit it, though, that in this particular case, it would've been fitting to divert from going home. Just this once, especially taking the situation into consideration, it would've benefited him to go a friend's house, to ask for some magnificent romantic idea to present to his wife. It's only that between his friends and home, he would easily pick going home, where he has absolute freedom, even it means Chi-Chi ignoring him all night.

Sure, he'd love to get help on the romantic front, because he's honestly not expertly good with it, but talking to people behind Chi-Chi's back, is part of what got him into trouble in the first place. If he went and spoke to one of his friends, not only would it make Chi-Chi angrier, it would also make him feel like a cheap fraud for not thinking of the romantic gesture himself.

Aww man, he mentally whimpers as he opens the door into the house, maybe he _should've_ asked Gohan for a few ideas, or even hints, because as it is, he's completely clueless As to what to do. Gohan would've been able to help him out for sure, and Chi-Chi wouldn't have minded that much if the advice came from their son, instead of his friends.

'Chi-Chi?' he softly calls out for her.

While his feet carry him further inside the house, his eyes carefully search the inside of his home. As he uses his eyes to find her, at the same time he concentrates his mind on finding her energy. His mind wins the search, when it instantly picks up on her energy, but even realising that his wife's energy is reading from afar, his eyes still keep scanning the house, as they hope to find a trace of her here at home.

Maybe his eyes don't trust his mind, he thinks as he lets out a breath filled with disappointment. Who knows, with the way his own wife seems to not trust him, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if his own body parts started distrusting each other as well. Really, it wouldn't be a surprise that his eyes don't trust his brain, when at the centre of him, is his wife, and if there's a crack from the centre, it's only a matter of time before everything else starts cracking too.

'Chi-Chi, are you here?' he calls out again.

The silence for an answer is clear evidence that she's not home, but a big part of him still hoped that in coming home, he would find her here.

He remembers that she said that she would be going to her father's, but he held hope deep in his sorry heart, that he would find her home after all. Even after getting her energy reading away from home, his eyes not seeing her, and no reply meeting his calls for her, he still has a little hope that she'll surprise him suddenly, by appearing.

He's even considering that _if_ she suddenly surfaces from one of the rooms in the house, he'll shamelessly use the chance to fall down onto his knees and then ask her about _what_ romantic thing he should do for her. It wouldn't be the right way to go about getting the perfect romantic thing for her, but at least, getting it done would convince her to know that he _is_ genuinely sorry about what happened. But, from the looks of things, he'll have to struggle on his own, on finding out which romantic thing he should do for her

'She's really not here,' he sadly accepts in defeat, even having known that she wouldn't be here.

Oh, man, now what? How will he get this right? Should he go to the Ox King's place and just ask _her_ there what romantic thing he should do for her?

No, that won't be good, he answers his own question. His gesture to her, has to come from himself, from his own efforts, and that will be what she appreciates the most. Chi-Chi is exactly as simple as he is, so it won't be as easy be to get the perfect thing for her. Romance for his wife, could mean him offering to do the dishes, or bringing her a blanket when she's sitting outside. Neither of the two would do it here now, not if he wants to _prove_ how apologetic he is. As Gohan told him, the measure of his gesture, should be the desperation that he has for her forgiveness. And that's exactly why this is so difficult for him.

Although he knows what Chi-Chi appreciates and values when it comes to him and their whole family, executing a gesture that goes way above the simplicity that they love and live by, isn't something that he has confidence in himself enough, to do properly. He can easily wrestle clones of himself, he can stand up against Destruction gods, and he can even challenge the strongest in the world to a little match, and yet, the task of romancing his wife, is as difficult as difficult can be.

And Chi-Chi makes it difficult for him too, he tries to validate his inability.

Why didn't she, just for today, leave the house dirty instead of spotless so that he could attempt cleaning up? Why didn't she leave some things out of place for him to arrange? If she'd just forgotten to do everything that she normally does, he would've found something to do for her, that would work in his favour, But no, as always, she left everything in perfect order. His careful look around the house as he searched for her, proved without fail, that everything is as it always is... Everything is as it always is at this hour, except...

A slow, triumphant smile starts to cross on his face as he realises that only one thing isn't as it always is, and that thing, just happens to be one thing that he could turn into a romantic gesture for her. It's quite unoriginal, and will possibly backfire on him, seeing as he's not that much of an expert on cooking. However, if he does his best, uses all of his concentration to make even the smallest of a meal for the three of them, he might just have a chance at having Chi-Chi as his audience for his apology.

Yeah, he motivates himself, letting the smile on his face grow to a glow. Cooking, he'll definitely try cooking dinner.

With that thought leading him, he slowly walks into the kitchen and goes to open the fridge. As soon as the door clears way from his eyes to see the content of the fridge, he miserably regrets opening it in the first place. Wiping the smile clean off his face, his face falls so deeply, that he feels it literally weigh him down.

The dessert.

Just seeing that piece of delicacy that Chi-Chi left for him to have, brings a bitterly poisonous taste to his heart, that thoroughly reminds his brain, just how deep of a trench he is in. His eyes remain fixed on the dessert in the fridge as his brain vividly reminds him of the example that Chi-Chi gave him using that very same dessert. Normally, he'd immediately start salivating in anticipation for its taste, but looking at the dessert now, all he wants to do is crush it in his hands, to viciously destroy every last crumb of it.

Swallowing a guilty lump down his throat, he thinks that he'll never be able to eat that dessert now. He can't destroy it either, he reasons. Chi-Chi made it with love, for him specifically, and to destroy that, all because the power of guilt and shame changed his view of it, would be like punching his wife in the face for loving him. No, he can't touch that dessert, neither can he continue to keep looking at it, but...

Goten is sure to accept the dessert with a happy, guilt-free heart, to properly enjoy it, as it should be. Thinking of Goten, though, on a normal day, by this time, Goten would be in the bath that Chi-Chi drew for him, while she began with dinner.

He might as well go to bring Goten home, he thinks, readily closing the fridge for some reprieve. In all honesty, as upset as she is, when Chi-Chi gets home, he'd hate it if she had to worry about dinner and Goten along her current mood. If nothing works and he doesn't get her forgiveness, at least he would've spared her worry over those two things.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

Goku feels like the sun is setting faster today than it did any other day in his life, because when he pulls up at the house, in their car with Goten, it's darker than he would've liked it to be. What's worse, is that with the darkness that is starting to form outside, another type of darkness is welling within him too. Because he doesn't want Goten to be aware of his welling darkness, he acts like nothing is wrong, casually opening the door for his little son to enter.

The darkness growing outside, doesn't allow him to get out of turning on the light, and when he does, he finds that instead of running into the familiar environment of their house, Goten is standing with a waiting look on his face.

Only to mask the fact that Chi-Chi isn't immediately visible, he smiles at his son, saying, 'We're home.'

Goten on the other hand, is clever enough to realise that his turning on the light means that his mother isn't home like she always is, because he curiously asks, 'Dad, where's Mom? Did she go somewhere with Whis?'

Ouch!

Why on Earth did Goten have to mention Whis _like that_? Anything associated with why Chi-Chi doesn't like him at the moment, is extremely stabbing to his person. He knows that it was just an innocent question, from a curious child used to finding their mother at home, but did it have to feel so sharp _like that_?

Oh, man, from now on, he'll make a mental not to never do anything that causes him to feel guilty, because overall, guilt is not nice. In fact, he's quickly learning that when consumed by guilt and shame, everything, even the most innocent of things, change.

'She's at Grandpa's,' he tells his son, only after he's recovered himself.

'So then, who will cook us dinner?' Goten wants to know. 'I'm hungry.'

Goku swears, that blue painted face, and those innocent pleading eyes of Goten's, are the only things keeping him from turning his back and crying out in frustration. In this moment most especially, he really appreciates his youngest son, because Goten has this way of being himself, that lightens even the toughest of loads. Looking at Goten, he doesn't dwell so much on the darkness rising within him, which is why Goku finds himself automatically ruffling Goten's hair.

' _I'll_ cook us dinner,' he answers more confidently than he actually feels.

A little sceptical frown appears on Goten's face, showing his clear distrust and dislike at the thought of his father cooking them dinner. He looks like he would rather swallow a stone, than eat what his father has to make.

'Why?' his son moans. 'Why can't Mom cook us dinner? Isn't she coming back?'

'She is,' is his immediate answer, but in his head, he adds, _I hope_.

He really does hope that she's coming back home. The darkness welling inside him along with the growing darkness outside, is from the thought that Chi-Chi _might_ choose that for tonight, she doesn't want to come back to _him_. He's actually quite afraid that she will stay the night at her father's, rather than come home to him, to the man that she feels betrayed by.

What adds more incentive to his fear, the welling darkness that she will not return home tonight, is that she's always been here at this time of the evening. Around this time, would be when they would all be at home. He would be doing his light exercises before dinner, while Goten took his bath, and Chi-Chi busied herself around the kitchen. The fact that she's not here, seems like an unpleasantly rhythmic shift in the balance that has been their lives so far.

'Then why can't _she_ cook us dinner?' Goten continues to complain, crosses his little arms. 'I like her food.'

'So do I, Goten,' he agrees, sympathising with the little guy, before crouching down onto his knee to Goten's level, 'but your mom is upset with me at the moment, and I just want to make it up to her by cooking.'

Oops, that just came out, he didn't mean to say it.

'Why is Mom upset with you?' Goten studies him. 'Did you do something bad?'

If only Goten knew, he thinks while nodding his answer.

'Did you come in the house with dirty boots?' his son asks thoughtfully.

Sparing just a second to smile at the innocence in his son, Goku shakes his head to accompany his answer, 'No, it wasn't that.'

Curious eyes look up into his, as if to say that they mean to get to the bottom of why his mother is upset with his father. Despite everything else, it's genuinely warming to know that his son has such keen interest in something that he's not directly a part of.

'Then what did you do?' Goten insists to know, and apparently, an idea comes to him which he makes known. 'Oh, I know, you were you flying in the house, weren't you, Dad?'

Flying in the house? At his size? Really, being a child must be so great. If only he'd flown inside the house, rather than what he's really done, then he wouldn't be in this hole right now.

'No,' he ruffles his son's hair again, 'it was nothing like that. Your mom's upset with me, because I was wrong.'

He was wrong. What he did was wrong, and he saw what it did to his wife. He was just wrong, and he's aware that nothing can make it right, even if his intentions hadn't been to be wrong like he is.

'About what?' Goten wants to know.

'About something bad,' he answers, 'but I know that when she comes home and you haven't bathed yet, she'll be really upset with you too.'

Distraction, he decides, is the best way to get Goten to stop asking him all of these questions.

'No,' Goten violently shakes his head in denial, 'I don't want Mom upset with me.'

'I don't want her upset with you either,' Goku tells him, ruffling his hair one last time, 'so you need to take a bath, okay?'

Nodding to say that he understands, Goten calls for him, his eyes looking as innocent as anything can be. 'Dad?'

'Yeah, Goten?'

'Can I fill the tub with lots of water? I promise I won't make a mess.'

It's the way he puts his tiny hands together, to look like he's about to start saying a prayer, that melts Goku enough to not even consider saying no to the little guy. In any situation, it would be super impossible for him to say no to Goten, which is why he leaves the disciplining to Chi-Chi. She, of the two of them, knows how to put her foot down when it comes to their children.

'Okay,' he accepts, 'but your mom better not find you with that much water in the tub. She'll kill me.'

Happily so, Goten nods and then starts to runs off without further prompting. Watching his son disappear away from him, he can't help it remember that Goten's entire person, is the reason that he adores the little guy. He's so quick to be happy and get over sadness, that it's impossible to not like him. He swears on his strength that if Goten grows up too fast, he'll beg Chi-Chi for another child. He can't, simply can't have a home without at least a little creation of his and Chi-Chi's, to constantly remind him how beautiful life is.

With a little smile on his face, he starts to get up from his knee, when-

'I won't kill you…' he hears behind him.

Faster than he meant to, he gets onto his feet and faces the direction of the door. It feels like his heart stops, when he sees that his precious wife, is really inside their home, willingly talking to him. He's so glad that she's here, that he places a hand over his heart to makes sure that it's still beating, because it really felt like it stopped beating,

'…But you are going to regret letting Goten in the bathroom alone,' she completes, only to frown at him.

Uh-oh, he thinks in panic. She's frowning. Why is she frowning? What does that frown mean? Is it because she still hasn't changed her mind, and she still doesn't want to look at him like before?

'Did I worry you?' apologetically comes out of her mouth.

'Huh?'

He doesn't understand what she means. What is she asking? What does it mean?

'You look relieved to see me,' she explains with a finger pointed at his face. 'I've made that face enough times to know it. I didn't mean to worry you, Goku. I'm sorry.'

Oh…

Wow… His heart shifts a few flights down from its place.

Now he feels so bad. He'd been so ready to assume the worst of her frown, meanwhile, she was just frowning to disapprove how her actions made him worry. Right away, he should've known that just like he doesn't want her to feel jealous, she wouldn't ever want him to be on the side of worry, like she always is.

He's really messed up, he thinks dejectedly. Everything in different now, and nothing is the same. He can't look at anything the same anymore, it seems.

'I was a little worried,' he quietly admits. 'I didn't think that you'd want to come home. To me.'

Specifically to _him_ , not just home, home. In his head, it's one thing for her to love him, but liking him is another completely different thing. She loves him, that he knows, but as for liking him this day, he won't bet even a fraction of his strength on it.

'That's absurd, Goku,' she dismisses sternly, 'I'll always come home.'

Suddenly, he wants, with all of his heart, to cry. He wants to suddenly cry, because he doesn't know if he should apologise to her all at once, or if he should thank her for coming back to him, no matter what. Mostly, he wants to cry, because he doesn't know _what_ to do, and compared to how she's prepared to weather time with him, no matter how unpleasant, so as not to worry him.

'Chi-Chi...' he partly croaks out, but doesn't say more. Even what to say, he's not sure anymore.

'I called Bulma,' she lets him know as she steps into the kitchen, 'and she told me that you got Goten and the car.'

Thankfully, his body parts know how to function, because he steps into the kitchen after her. He makes sure to keep a safe distance away from her, in case she doesn't want him that close to her. When immediately, she goes to start opening the cupboard, it hits him that she wants to start on dinner. Afraid for that to happen, he quickly rushes over to her and takes her hands in his.

'No, Chi-Chi,' he protests, desperately squeezing her hands for her to understand. 'I want to cook.'

The look that she gives him, says more of a warning than the nothing that comes from her mouth. If he wasn't desperate for her forgiveness, for things to return to how they used to be, he wouldn't keep clutching her hands like this, because that look...

'Gohan told me that if I want your forgiveness,' he quickly starts to explain himself, 'then I'd have to do something romantic for you. I didn't know what else to do, so I thought I could make dinner. I really want to apologise to you, Chi-Chi.'

'I appreciate that,' she expresses in the tone that she normally uses when she doesn't want to hurt his feelings in a delicate moment, 'but I'm not letting you touch my pots. Please don't touch anything in my kitchen,' she finishes firmly.

That's not going to work for him, he thinks. He needs, absolutely, deeply and desperately needs to make the effort that will make her realise that he is sincere in his apology.

'But then _how_ will you forgive me, if you don't let me do something to show you how sorry I am?' he pleads, feeling quite burdened by the idea of having nothing romantic to do for her.

Although she gently pulls her hands from his, that just makes his burden worse, because it says to him that she has no interest in forgiving him for now. She knows how much he likes to have physical contact with her, because it's one of those intimate things, that he never gets to do with anyone else. About all of his friends, can attend to his love for combat, but none of them can give him what Chi-Chi does.

'What are you sorry for?' she asks, her face serious.

'I'm sorry for making you think I was okay with Whis being your friend,' he starts at once, 'when I really planned to keep him away from you.'

He doesn't immediately understand why, but she looks surprised at his confession. It's only that her surprise doesn't poke a response from her, so he decides to say more to her.

'I didn't do it to hurt you, Chi-Chi, please believe me,' he begs. 'I'd never hurt you, you know that.'

He'll cry. He swears that he will cry if she tells him that she doesn't believe that last part. Whatever else he may be capable of doing, he would _never_ do anything to intentionally hurt her.

'Goku,' she lets out a long breath, 'if you don't want me with Whis, just say the word, and I'll stop. That's all it takes, you should know that.'

Did she just turn the tables on him? It just sounded like she accused him of not knowing something that he should be familiar with, just like he's telling her to remember that he would never hurt her on purpose.

'But that's not fair to you,' he admits to her. 'I know you get lonely here when I'm not here, but you've _always_ just waited for me, Chi-Chi. It's so hard to know that maybe you won't be waiting for me anymore, not if you have a friend like Whis. What if you never miss me anymore?'

Just like that, like an invisible button was pressed to change her, he watches as her expression softens, beginning from the centre of her eyes. Somehow, on her softened expression, she manages to add delicate traces of concern, that touch his soul to vibrate.

'Is that what all this is about?' she wants to know in a pacifying tone. 'You think that I'll never miss you?'

Well, no, he frowns, that's not what it's about. Actually, the deeper issue here, is that before he's Goku, her husband, he has Saiyan blood and makeup. He doesn't like to own up to that side of himself often, because when he does, he finds himself struggling to hold on to who he is, who he's always been. But more than he'd like to admit, he's got Saiyan blood flowing in his veins.

'Not really,' he tells her while shaking his head.

The thing about his Saiyan nature, is that it's very possessive, frighteningly so. In his Saiyan mind, he has territory, and that territory belongs to him and him alone. He didn't want to admit that he's jealous, because that would be the same as succumbing to his Kakarrot-the-Saiyan heritage, but deep down he's slightly always known the truth. It was just a matter of accepting it as true.

'Then what is it about?' Chi-Chi asks him, but it doesn't sound like she's pushing him to tell her.

The truth is, if he has to explain it to her, he'll be ashamed of himself all throughout, for feeling and thinking this. There's not a part of him that wants to say to her, that she never showed interest in anyone other than _him_ , male or female. He doesn't want to explain it to her, that that quelled his Saiyan side, because only _he_ stood out for her, making him her number one. He really doesn't want to go down that path.

It must be that Chi-Chi realises just how unready he is to talk about it, because she holds out a hand for her him.

'Come,' she says to him.

When he takes her hand, she leads him to the couch, and just after she takes a seat, a loud, 'Dad!' erupts in the air, stopping him from taking a seat next to her.

'Goten,' he breathes.

He'd forgotten about Goten being in the bathroom. When looks at her, mostly wondering what in the world it is that Goten wants, that's when he remembers what she said about him regretting the decision to let Goten go in the bathroom alone.

'I bet it's a mess in there,' she predicts like it's nothing new.

He bets that she's right. This is Goten, after all, and because he allowed Goten to have what he wanted, he should be the one to deal with the consequences.

'I'll go check on him,' he quickly excuses himself, beginning to loosen his hand from hers.

A soft tug at the tips of his fingers, has him giving her his full attention, to begin asking if something is wrong. However, as he concentrates on her, she silently looks back at him, and miraculously, they just share a tenderly quiet moment, looking into each other's eyes, without speaking words. He knows what she's telling him, and she knows that he understands what she means.

After a moment, she releases his hand, and although it tugs on his heart to let her hand go, he does, in order to leave for the bathroom.

'I'll be back,' he promises softly before rushing off to Goten.

Unlike he expected, once he opens the bathroom, he finds the tub overflowing, with Goten standing beside it, just watching the water smoothly cascade down. Thinking fast, before he starts with Goten, he moves to turn the water off and then let out a little bit more through the plugged hole.

Boy, will he be in trouble! Chi-Chi said that she won't kill him for letting Goten get what he wants, but if she happens to come in here and see the mess, he'll be dead meat for sure.

'Goten...' he starts after turning off the water, facing his son to get an explanation.

He was going to ask Goten why he didn't turn off the water, but Goten's got this expectantly blank look on his face, that reminds him that his son, is just a child. His son is just a child, and that is why Chi-Chi prepares his baths for him. It would be pointless to ask a naturally curious child, why they did something that already happened. In fact, he remembers that at Goten's age, he'd been just the same; doing things without thinking about the consequences.

'Come on, Goten,' he chooses to let the passed act go, 'do you think you can manage to create a great ball of energy to help me?'

As an alternative to walking out of the bathroom to get a mop, and risk Chi-Chi finding out what's really happening in the bathroom, he'd rather turn the spilled water into vapour using his energy.

'A great big ball? Sure, Dad,' Goten eagerly nods, 'I can do that. I'm strong too.'

First assuming a fighting stance and stretching out his hands, as though ready to create a Kamehameha wave, Goku inclines his head to direct, 'Okay. On three...' he spares a moment to smile down at Goten who's mimicked him to the letter, 'One. Two. Three.'

On three, both of them create yellow balls of energy, to start with steaming the water on the ground. Goku puts in a lot more effort than Goten, into steaming the water, but he's a little too proud of how dedicated his son is, to getting the job done. After they convert the last of the water into vapour, leaving the floor close to completely dry, Goku tells Goten to undress and get in the tub for his bath.

'Can you get in by yourself ?' he asks, wiping his eyebrow.

'Dad,' Goten giggles, 'I'm big enough to get in the bath on my own.'

'Okay,' he smiles, showing Goten a thumbs-up.

As Goten starts to undress, Goku spares time to look at him and just think. One day, that child will be all grown up and then... No, there's still a long way before he gets a girlfriend. Or maybe not that long. He'd met Chi-Chi at a pretty young age, and by the time they were eighteen, they were married. Gohan also got married at eighteen, so maybe it must be in the Son genes to get a love life early on in life. And speaking of genes...

Now specifically for some reason, he recalls how Raditz once said that by hitting his head, he forgot his real Earth mission. Since then, they'd been times when wondered if somehow, that blow to his head, altered his personality somehow. Vegeta, even to this day, has this hostility within him, that is apparently typical of Saiyans, but he, Goku, has never cared to have it, and that has made him wonder if the blow to his head changed him completely.

He's often wondered if he would've been different if he'd grown up on his own planet, if he would've been cruel and evil, but when he looks at Goten now, he finds it very hard to believe that he would've been any different in any case.

He knows for sure that Goten didn't bump his head in his life, and yet, Goten is _exactly_ like him, which can only be something that he inherited. As old as he is, he's not as brainy as Gohan and Chi-Chi, especially with the complex biology things, but he's never heard of _inherited brain_ _damage_. There's no way that he could have passed on brain damage, even if that's what had happened with him when he hit his head.

Maybe he's looking at it the wrong way, but-

'I'm in, Dad,' Goten announces. 'See?'

Oh, Goku comes to realise, he must've stopped focusing when he started thinking, because he didn't see Goten get into the tub.

'Good,' he vocally applaud, 'but just don't stay in there too long. You can have my dessert in the fridge when you're done, okay?'

Excitedly, Goten asks, 'Before dinner?'

Well, he doubts that Chi-Chi will allow it, but he nods anyway. Because he apparently finds that a good deal, Goten jerks a thumbs-up his way, with the cutest smile pasted on his face, before submerging into the tub completely.

Good, Goku breathes out, now that Goten is taken care of, all that remains, is confiding in his wife about his Saiyan suspicions of himself, surrounding this whole thing with her and Whis.

* * *

Chapter 18, **If You Only Knew.**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18, **If You Only Knew.**

* * *

Along with the sound of the closing bathroom door, Chi-Chi mildly shifts in her seat. The attentive, partly suspicious person that she puts on around Goku and Goten, wants to get up from her seat and see with her own eyes what happened in the bathroom, except, the wife-who-needs-answers that she is at the moment, tames her other person, to simply stay put in her seat; thus, her shifting in her seat.

She's too sure that something wrong, and desirable happened in that bathroom. Goku _did_ give Goten permission to fill the tub with water, after all, and so, typically, Goten did something that he was not supposed to. No one will be able to convince her that nothing happened in that bathroom, because she's not as naïve as to believe that Goten called his father in there for the sheer _fun_ of it. However, she has to put those thoughts aside for now, seeing as Goku is coming back to her.

Lately, she finds herself pushing things aside than not, she muses, just as Goku comes into view from the corridor.

'I'm back,' he nervously announces before he even reaches their sofa.

That's telling, she thinks a little sympathetically.

The fact that he's letting her know of his presence, rather than just coming to sit next to her like he would've done at any other time, is telling of the fact that he _still_ doesn't believe that she wants to be around him. Well, she can't lie and say that she doesn't feel disappointed with him still, but the fact is that her personal feelings don't have _that_ much power over her, that she would want to go to bed angry with him.

'Come and sit,' she advises him, softly smoothing the place next to her, with her hand.

This is Goku, _her Goku_ to be precise. She could take pride in so many things in her life, however, one of the top things that she prides herself on, is the fact that she knows her Goku. While yes, they haven't gone through something exactly like this in the past, they _have_ been in strange situations before. She's seen him shy away from her, because he didn't want to tell her about something. In those difficult cases, when he behaved like a chastised child, she always needed to gently coax him into believing that he can trust her.

This time should be no different.

She needs to ease him into feeling comfortable enough to share his deepest everything with her, because in so many ways, Goku has child-like mannerisms ,that even when he wants to say something, it still needs to be coaxed out of him. More especially if he thinks it will make him look bad, helpless or stupid.

Thankfully, it doesn't take more than that invitation to bring him to take the seat next to her. He keeps a little space between them, she observes, but she's just thankful that she doesn't need to gently convince him that they need to have a serious talk.

'I don't really want you to go and train with Vados,' she decides to start the talking. 'Or even with Whis.'

When it comes down to it, she'd prefer that Goku trains with Whis, instead of training with Vados. Only, if it was completely up to her, if she had to make a decision at the moment, to decide whether Goku goes to train or not, she would choose that he holds on just a little while before he goes. She's his wife, of course, it's in her build-up, to not want him to leave her for long periods at a time. With the excellent way Goku is at staying away... No, she never really wants him to leave home.

'I also don't want to go if you want me to go,' he tells her through a wounded look. 'It's different that way, like you don't want me here.'

Without realising that her expression changes after his words, Chi-Chi's eyes focus on his forehead, in a subconscious attempt to see past the hair covering his forehead, into his brain.

 _That's_ what he's been internalising all these days? Has he really been feeding himself, that by telling him to go and train with Vados, she didn't want him around? Did he maybe, in some non-malicious way, think that in letting him go off to train with Vados, she'd get to spend more time with Whis? Because...

'No,' she argues, frowning to show distaste at his line of reasoning, 'I always want you here, but I also understand that going is something that you will eventually do. I was just trying to prepare for it, I suppose,' she finalises, making her eyes turn to his.

Either, he'd been thinking to do it already, or, the fact that she makes eye contact with him, makes him do it, but as soon as she looks into his eyes, he quickly averts his from hers, and then slightly hangs his head.

'Yeah, well,' he mumbles, 'I didn't like it.'

'I understand,' she softly agrees with him, placing her hand on his knee for emphasis.

Before bringing his eyes to meet hers, she notices how his eyes first look and linger at her hand on his knee. The way that she knows him, it's only naturally for her to assume, that he's starting to feel like he's back inside her circle again, as opposed to being cast outside.

'I'm really sorry, Honey,' spews out of his mouth like he's watching her dying, and saying that will prevent her death. 'You _have_ to believe that I didn't think that it would hurt you like this,' he pleads to her with begging eyes.

Those begging eyes...

She swears, it's always those begging eyes of his, that make her relent to him. It's as though they are her custom conditioners, that have long ago taught her to cave to him. Which is why, for the immediate first second following his plea, the words, 'I know,' ready themselves in her head. She gets ready to say them to him, a response, only, for a reason that she doesn't immediately understand, the words don't make it to her mouth. At best, what she manages to say to him, she says with her attention.

'I've never felt like this, you know, Chi-Chi?' he continues.

It's like he's starting to plead his case, as not guilty, but allowing that little bit of possibility of guilt, be fit in. She can't put it into words, just how she deciphered that from his tone and words, but she did, and because she did, she slowly nods to let him know that she's onto what he's trying to tell her.

'You know, at first,' she starts, if only to help him along in getting to the point, 'I only thought that you were a little insecure about Whis. I thought it was a little childish thing about his strength, and my food, and it was so extremely endearing that you felt that way...'

She remembers how from that first time in their kitchen, when Goku showed up in the kitchen, to find her and Whis in there, she got the feelings of a young girl. As soon as she started to notice a slight imbalance in Goku's aura, for questioning Whis's presence, her inner girly-girl, took greedy cherish of that.

'And even after that first time,' she continues fondly, 'you were being more affectionate, and you were home more... But after that _thing_ with Bulma and Vegeta, I just don't know _what_ it is anymore. A part of me feels responsible for that thing, because I should've taken you seriously the first time. I actually feel a little guilty for taking advantage of something that you feel strongly about.'

In her mind, she knows too well that she's not in the wrong here, that she shouldn't feel guilty, but her soft heart for her dear husband, is too weak to _not_ feel a little guilt. Even though the fact that he agreed to trying to accept her friendship with Whis, excuses her from feeling any type of guilt, she can't help it feel like she helped a little bit, for things to get to this extreme point.

'But it's _not_ your fault,' he argues with determined passion.

Not only that, but his eyes also glaze over with such moved emotion, that she momentarily feels seduced to forget what it is, that they are talking about in the first place.

'I promise, Chi-Chi,' he cries just as he did before, 'it's not your fault. I don't blame _you_ for anything.'

After he speaks, once he's convinced her that he doesn't hold her accountable for his actions, she dully pulls herself from her temporary forgetfulness.

'I know,' she hears come from her own mouth. 'But I also don't know what's really going on with you. Maybe if I knew what's really going on with you, Goku...'

She won't promise that she'll easily stop being disappointed with him once she hears the truth from him, though, at least having an understanding of what caused his behaviour, will be good knowledge to have. It'll be good to know where his behaviour stemmed from, and why it's such a big issue for him, to this point.

In the end, she knows that marriage is about having that room to understand each other, even when the surroundings are not ideal.

Their marriage specifically, sometimes means that she has to sleep in the middle of the bed, when he's away, so that the empty side where he sleeps when he's home, doesn't rub it in her face that he's not there with her. And their marriage, is sometimes going the extra mile of baking treats to sell, just for that little bit of income when times aren't fortunate on them. But still, in the end, their marriage is defined by overcoming, and that _is_ what she wants to do here with him. It may not take tonight, but getting started, is the right progress.

'This isn't the you that I know,' she says to him, 'and I don't like feeling like I don't know you.'

'This _is_ different,' he confesses in a lowered tone, like he's ashamed to speak. 'I think this part of me is from a side of me that I hate. I don't really like _that_ side of me. It's mean and selfish, with this dark heart, you know? I've only felt it twice in my life.'

Dark heart? What is he saying? All this talk of feeling twice like this in his life... What is he really talking about?

'What are you talking about?' she wants to know with all her might.

Letting out a small sigh, and giving off the air of someone decided to air it all, he calmly starts to speak.

'Chi-Chi, you know how I'm just _me_? How I don't care about being a Saiyan or an Earthling? How I only care that I'm me?'

Her answer to him, is to nod, because yes, she _does_ know all that about him. Sure, he easily accepts those two things about himself, being a Saiyan and Earthling at the same time, and yet, he doesn't let that define him as much as Vegeta does.

'Are you sure you want to hear this?' he asks.

As he begins to scratch the back of his head in that signature way of his, Chi-Chi realises that he sounded different just now as well. All of a sudden, it seems that he wants to change his mind about telling her.

Puzzled by this, she frowns at him to ask, 'Why wouldn't I want to hear it?'

'Well,' he timidly answers, physically seeming to shrink too, 'I'm not really proud of this part of me, so I know that you wouldn't like it either.'

So that's it? So, he's afraid of scaring her to not like him. Really, sometimes, he has the most innocent ways of reasoning, that make it near impossible to be upset with him.

'Goku please,' she starts to assure him, 'there are things about you that get under my skin sometimes, but I know better than anyone, that if anything about you, even one strand of hair, were to change, you wouldn't be _my Goku_.'

The Goku that he is, is the result of all of the things that make him up. Whether desirable traits, irritating or endearing, they are all a part of him, and they make him who is he; as lovable as he is. She needs him to know, that whatever part of him, is part of him, she _wouldn't_ hate him for it. Considering that she's not exactly the most perfect person in the world, and yet here he still is, (jealous about her, even) she would be hypocritical to hate something that is part of him.

'Are you really, really, really sure that you want to hear it?' he asks again.

'Yes,' she nods. 'Tell me.'

If he didn't look positively edible with that timid expression on his face, reminiscent of little Goten, she would've busted out a severe warning to tell him to get on with it all right. It's times such as this, that she wonders if she'll ever truly win with her boys. They _always_ find a way to keep tapping on her heart, and reminding her of why she loves them so much...

Somewhat hopefully, a difference from his previous timidity, Goku asks, 'You promise not to get angry?'

They way that he actually looks hopeful that she won't get angry, automatically puts the suspicion in her head, that he did something that he shouldn't have. It wouldn't surprise her if he has done something like that, which is why she reflexively pushes into his personal space. Her face only comes to a stop a breath away from his, and then she narrows her eyes at him suspiciously.

'Did you do something, Goku?' she questions him.

As she expected him to do, Goku quickly leans back from her suspicious inquisition, to firmly deny any wrongdoing.

'No,' he shakes his head. 'I promise I didn't do anything.'

'Then start talking!' she orders through thinned lips.

'You need to promise me that you won't get angry first,' Goku responds, looking ready to jump out of is seat.

She won't have it, though, she tells herself. Clearly, the reason that he wants her to promise him that she won't get angry, is because somewhere, in some manner, his confession involves him doing something that he shouldn't have, that is sure to make her angry with him.

'And _if_ it makes me angry?'

'That's _why_ you need to promise,' he expresses, placing both of his hands on her shoulders to help tone her aggressiveness down a bit.

There! So she _is_ right! He did do something unsavoury! She starts to think of the possible things that he might confess to her right now, when the sound of a knock on their door, interrupts her. Confused, she looks at Goku, who looks back at her with equal confusion, and they both turn to look at the door. Who could be at their door this late?

'Chi-Chi,' he pleads with his eyes towards like hers, 'promise me.'

What, he didn't hear the knock on the door? Or is he simply choosing to ignore whoever is at the door, for the sake of his much needed clemency?

'There was a knock at the door,' she reminds him without looking at him.

His response to that, is to urgently use his hand to draw her face towards him, so that she is looking at him, rather than focusing on the door.

'Promise me, please?' he begs.

This will go on forever, she mentally sighs while looking at her husband. What exactly does he think, that they'll continue their conversation with people in their home? In any case, she decides in her mind, if she doesn't promise him like he wants her to, he might just keep insisting even in front of their guest.

'Fine,' she reluctantly gives in, 'I promise. Now, I need to see who's at the door.'

Getting up quickly, she goes to the door, instantly opening it without any fear. Even being this late in the evening, she isn't threatened by who it could be, and how dangerous they could be still, when her husband is right in the room with her. Upon opening the door, Gohan, smiling Videl, and her precious granddaughter's faces, all meet her.

'Gohan?'

She's surprised to see that it's him here. At this hour, no less. He's always told her that the evenings, while Videl made dinner from them, were the best times to study a few of his chapters.

'I'm sorry, Mom,' Gohan tells her, a little nervous laugh in his voice. 'I was worried about you and Dad, so I convinced Videl to check up on you. I hope that's okay.'

Well, she silently considers as she looks at him, he _did_ cut in the middle of a very important conversation with Goku. She wanted to finally uncover the real reason for Goku's jealousy before dinner, but apparently, her other son had plans to interrupt that, just like Goten did the first time.

Oh, her life with her boys...

'It's okay,' she says, showing him a small smile.

Despite their arrival not being opportune, she still means it. Really, when she considers it, it's too precious that Gohan would be worried about them this much, that he would bring his entire family over to check on them that every same day. And since Gohan was thoughtful enough to do that for his parents, there's no reason why she should send them back home just like that. She might as well invite them in for dinner.

'Videl,' she looks at her daughter-in-law, 'will you help me with dinner?'

'Of course,' Videl politely agrees.

She then looks at her son, to give him instructions for the meantime. 'Gohan, give Pan over to your father, and then do me a favour.'

'Yes, Mom?'

Gohan is positively polite, and well mannered, she takes a second to appreciate. He turned out so well after having endured so many things at a young age.

'Your brother is in the bathroom,' she tells him, 'and he has paint on his face, could you wash it off him please?'

Only Goku would believe that Goten is capable of giving himself a proper bath without repetitive supervision. If no one goes into the bathroom to help him clean off that paint, Goten is sure to come out with a painted face. She needs Gohan to be the one to help out, because Goku is sure to start playing with Pan.

'I will,' Gohan promises just before he excuses himself.

Oh well, Chi-Chi guesses that she'll just have to wait for later in their bedroom, to continue her conversation with Goku.

* * *

Chapter 19, **Jet Black Heart.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19, **Jet Black Heart.**

* * *

It's funny how, when Goten first interrupted his talk with Chi-Chi, he felt a good sense of relief, to be able to postpone talking to her. Even if it would've been for just two minutes, the relief of brief escape, had made him breathe a little easier. But when that knock from Gohan interrupted him for a second time, he rather felt like he was starting to get desperately impatient.

When he should've been grateful for the second interruption too, which would've given him more time to avoid getting to the bottom of his behaviour, with his wife, he instead felt a little suffocated by rising frustration. He felt, at the immediate time of Gohan's interruption, that it was right of him to feel that way.

When he considered that he'd made up his mind to come clean to Chi-Chi, no matter what, and he even got her to promise him, that she wouldn't get angry with him, it made perfect sense to feel a slight tide of impatient desperation at the interruption. It was like he'd been that close to getting a sentence for a crime that he was getting ready to confess, only for that moment of sentencing to be taken away from him. Who wouldn't feel a little desperate with impatience at that?

However, reflecting back on it now, he realises just how important it was for Gohan to have made an appearance when he did. It has nothing to do with the fact that he got to play with his granddaughter, while everyone else did their thing, more than it has everything to do with realising and confirming something about himself. Now, a good while after dinner, after Gohan has left with his family, as he's meditating, he's starting to see something that Gohan's presence helped him realise, which he hadn't initially had complete clarity on.

Sitting crossed-legged on the floor, with his back leaned against their bed, to support his lazy form of meditation, and his eyes closed, he's doing a mental preparation of the conversation that he's going to have with Chi-Chi before the night is over. But he's also quickly accepting the realisation that Gohan's presence helped him see. He still finds it funny, that it took Gohan leaving their house, for him to reach _this realisation_ , which he feels is important to add to what he already has to confess to his wife.

The soft sound of shuffling feet, pulls him to slowly open his eyes, to welcome Chi-Chi's presence into their bedroom, just as she is closing the door behind her.

'You didn't eat much,' she comments as she walks to him.

'I wasn't that hungry, I guess,' he replies.

Shrugging as though to say that she doesn't believe him, she points out something else to him, 'You even gave your dessert to Goten.'

His dessert, huh? Is she testing him? He wonders… The dessert especially, had a bad reminder to it, for him, that he wouldn't have touched that thing, if it meant going up the greatest fighter in all of the universes. And thinking of bad reminders, those clothes that she's wearing, he doesn't want to see them on her either.

Gesturing to her approaching figure, he asks, 'Are you going to take your clothes off?'

Politely, he's asking, but really, what he's doing, is telling her that he wants her out of those clothes. Yes, he'll admit that she looks good in them, but he's associating today's badness with them being on her body. When he adds the fact that several people had to have seen her _like that_ at the baseball game, the need to see her dressed in her usual dress and trousers increases.

'Not until we talk,' she answers, and then she comes to sit across him.

He better get to talking then, and fast even, he pressures himself.

Apparently, the sooner that they talk, the sooner she will get rid of the bad reminder that her clothes are to him. If he has to wholeheartedly swear against something, it's that he will _never_ again, do anything with the potential to make him feel guilty. There's just a drilling darkness to guilt, that he cannot live with. Guilt, really does turn even the most innocent of things, into bad experiences and memories.

'Okay,' he sighs out, 'let's talk.'

As he waits for her to settle across him, taking the same stance of crossed legs as his, and he concentrates on looking at her face, it hits deeply, that she's carrying some bag of disappointment, and another of question for him. All throughout dinner, she'd kept a happy face, and she didn't shun him, but he could feel that she was not as settled as she usually is.

'I feel like apologising all over again,' he tells her honestly. 'I look at you, and that's all I want to do.'

He's being honest to the bone, because with her sitting across him like this, he can't look to the other side of the table, at Goten, Videl or Gohan, to distract him of the fact that he hurt his wife. In the kitchen, he had that option of temporary relief, but here, he can't escape the reality that she's disappointed with him, and that she doesn't really like him at the moment.

'An explanation would be better,' she tells him.

Her gentleness with him, even now, even when she's not all that happy with him, is a testament of her good nature, and naturally, that part of her, deepens his need to apologise to her again. She should really be giving him the cold shoulder that he feels he deserves from her, but she's not, and that's how he's feeling compelled to keep apologising to her. Plus, he didn't get the chance to do something romantic for her, to earn her forgiveness, so the need to apologise is something urgent.

'I still want to apologise,' he insists.

And he still wants her out of those clothes, because they are like a sore fight that he lost, which is right there in his face, replaying, for the sheer purpose of torturing him.

First joining her hands before her, and then bringing them under her chin for support, she begins to say, 'Listen, Goku, I have to understand you, in order to deal with you. Do you really think that we would have made it this far, if I didn't understand you as a whole? Understanding you, _is_ what makes us work. Not Goten, not Gohan before him, and not even apologies.'

He knows that, he really does, but what he supposed to do about feeling the push to apologise to her? It's not like he can get rid of it. He feels it, and that's just how it is. Whether she wants to hear him apologise or not, whether it will make any difference or not, he still just feels like he needs to apologise to her. He doesn't, for a second, believe that that specific feeling, will go away until he has her forgiveness, and all is well between them again.

Nonetheless, she's right; she needs to understand him and his behaviour, more than she needs to hear his apologies. After all, he really did do something that misplaced her, so he needs to bring her back to placement, as responsibly and effectively as he's able to. Maybe he'll start trying to place her, with a little joke. Jokes are almost always set to make her comfortable.

'I thought we worked, because you love me,' he says, showing her a weak smile.

'Goof! Understanding you, _is_ how I love you,' she replies simply, as if she was talking about Goten taking a nap after school.

The difference between how casually she said that, like it's not an important secret, that needs to be treasured like the last saving grace of a Spirit Bomb, and the actual magnitude of depth within those very words that she said, instantly disappears, the second that his brain fully registers the words, and transmits them to his heart. When he feels his heart do something like a palpitation for no apparent reason, it's then that he amazes at how his attempt at a joke, brought out a response that he'll forever hold onto.

'Okay,' he pronounces unsurely.

He feels like if he tries to say something lovely back, it'll upset the balance of the confession mood that they are supposed to have, so he decides that at the first opening, he'll say something just as wonderful back to her. For now, though, he has to get their urgent conversation on the go.

'I also want to understand why you like Whis,' he says to her, just barely getting over the fact that he can't say anything meaningful in response to her.

Maybe he's taking a chance by shifting the conversation her way, but the truth is, he really does want to understand what it is about Whis, that's unique to her. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't bat an eye, except, it isn't anyone else. Which is why he needs to understand her liking for Whis.

'Do you really want to know why I like Whis?' she asks with the strangest smile on her face.

He nods to say, 'Yes.'

Before his confession to her, he just has to confirm something that he realised thanks to Gohan's departure. Now, he believes that showing up at Gohan's office with Chi-Chi, and then Gohan coming here tonight, to check on them, weren't coincidences at all, rather, they were for a purpose.

'Are you really, really, really sure that you want to know?' she asks him, her smile growing bigger.

She's teasing him, he realises. As a frown forms on his face, he suddenly understands why her smile appears strange to him.

'Chi-Chiiiii…' he squeaks out like her teasing bruised him.

She mustn't joke like that with him, he thinks, looking down between them to avoid her eye. It's really not funny for her to joke like that. For all she knows, he could've jumped to the wrong conclusion, and assumed that her liking for Whis, is a complex matter.

'Sorry,' she giggles, successfully managing to bring his attention back to her. 'I couldn't resist.'

'I didn't like it,' he tells her, struggling to let go of his frown.

It still wasn't funny to joke like that. It was dangerous. His heart could've stopped beating, does she know that?

'Fine,' she sobers up, her smile disappearing just like that. 'I said I'm sorry.'

'Okay,' he accepts, finding that with her second apology, it's not so hard to let go of the sour expression on his face. 'So now will you tell me?'

'He's a little like you,' Chi-Chi tells immediately him, her hands dropping from her chin, to show that she's being serious. 'I like that about him.'

Funny, Goku snorts involuntarily, Whis says that he's like Lord Beerus, and here, Chi-Chi says that Whis is a little like _him_. So, who is he like really? Whis or Lord Beerus?

And so, what does she mean? When he's not here with her, and Whis is, it's like having a cheap replacement of him? Is that what she means by saying that Whis is a little like him, and she likes that about him? See?

'But what I like the most about him,' she picks up when he doesn't reply to her, 'is that he's a lot more like Gohan, than he is like you.'

Gohan, Gohan? Their Gohan?

'Gohan's my baby, you know?' she continues, looking dreamy about it. 'He always will be, and even though he has his own family now, he's still my baby.'

She doesn't have to tell him that, he thinks, feeling a sort of sympathetic pang for her. There's no one in the world, who doesn't know how she feels about Gohan. He's never really considered what it's like for her to have her son away from her, when they've been together for such a long time, but with her confession now, he's starting to see that she feels distanced from Gohan.

'Whis is polite,' her voice caresses the sentiment, 'and well mannered. He's genuine, with no ulterior motives. He's transparent, even though I imagine that he has his little mischievous moments. He reminds me so much of Gohan, and the proud mother in me, likes to hang onto that. In a small way, being around him, I like to be silently reminded of how well I've done as a mother.'

Hmm, he considers, that's interesting to him.

No, he didn't ever see Gohan in Whis. Although, now that Chi-Chi has mentioned it, he can't help it think that Whis is probably like Gohan is one particular aspect; his emotions. Seeing as Whis doesn't get upset or seriously angry, he'd dread to see how Whis could get when, and if he ever got provoked to feel anything outside the umbrellas of happiness and serenity. But otherwise, no, he didn't ever feel like he saw Gohan in Whis.

'So…' he tests, 'It's mostly about Gohan?'

'The Gohan I see in Whis, is wonderful, and so is the likeness to you, but I also really do just want a friend, Goku,' is her sincerely heartfelt answer. 'I just like him as he is. That's all there is to it.'

Even if he thought of arguing with her on the subject of having Whis as a friend, he wouldn't have the strength to. When she uses that sincere tone, and there's a needy look in her eyes, for him to understand that she wants a friend, he can't deny her that.

'I like him too,' he agrees, but that's what makes him feel so guilty and apologetic.

Slanting her head to the left, she asks, 'But you're just _jealous_ of him?'

 _Jealous_ , he winces internally. There's that ugly word again. He wishes that she wouldn't use it to describe his feeling towards her friendship with Whis. He almost wants to complain to her, that she shouldn't use that word, only, his guilt stops him from doing so. The most of complaining that he does, is screw his face unpleasantly.

Easily, he'll admit that he's never been confronted by even _the idea_ of jealousy in his life before, so he didn't recognise it at first. But as the hours of the days went by, he found himself thinking more and more about it, only to realise, that maybe he was, is being jealous. After getting to that point of realisation, he didn't want to hear about that particular word, because it made him feel like he wasn't the himself that he always has been.

The word jealous to him, is unapologetically exposing. It blatantly accuses him of having that dark spot, that he shouldn't have at all. He's Goku, and Goku doesn't have dark spots within him… He still thinks that his head injury didn't really alter him as a person, as a Saiyan specifically, but that jealousy word, makes him feel placed right into the gore heart of Saiyanhood. It's like, with that word, he can't escape as himself, but he's rather chained to Saiyanhood as a mean, dark spirited Saiyan; no different from the Saiyans before him.

'It's not him exactly,' he starts to explain it to her. 'It's just the thought of you being with him that makes me feel angry, and not nice towards him.'

He has to make this clear, that it's not necessarily that he has a problem with Whis, it's that Whis needs to stay very, very, very distant from his wife. Whis, he has no problem with, but he needs to find company with another person's wife, not his.

'But why?' she asks. 'Why does it bother you so much? If you know that I'll never look at him the way that I look at you, why does it bother you so much that he's with me?'

'Because it does!' he exasperatedly remarks, momentarily wishing that he could blast something.

That first day that he went to see Gohan with Goten, and Gohan pointed out that he and Piccolo are jealous of Whis, for different reasons, he didn't agree or want to accept it. However, after Gohan showed up just as he was pondering the best way to explain himself to his wife, he realised that although Gohan wasn't right about his assumption then, he was onto _something_.

'All right,' she breathes out like she's the one who needs to calm down, not him. 'Tell me about what you meant about that dark heart of yours,' jokingly pointing to his heart.

He knows that she's joking, because there's a subtle laugh in her voice, telling him that she doesn't believe that bit about him his having a dark heart.

'I'm ashamed of it,' he tells her hesitantly. 'I don't like it, Chi-Chi, because that's not me.'

She silently waits for him to continue with his confession, and in that silence, heavy nervousness attacks him. He really shouldn't be nervous, but he is. He shouldn't be nervous, because truly, Chi-Chi doesn't judge him that way. Even though she makes herself very vocal about what she disapproves of, it's not really from the bottom of her heart, to speak words of judgment towards him.

Even as he looks at her, into her eyes, he doesn't read impatience in them, which confirms that she won't judge him, but still... There seems to be something about telling her about something _that_ unpleasant, that's just making him nervous.

'I don't like it,' he repeats, half hoping that she will excuse him from talking about it all. 'I've only felt like this, twice in my life. With Frieza, and then with Black.'

Of all the villains that he's had to face up to date, Black is the only other creature (besides Frieza), to have successfully pulled out that dark side out of him. Neither Cell, nor Buu in their many forms, every really pulled those strings in him, that made him become a puppet of his dark heart.

He's in the middle of thinking about how Black aroused the same feelings in him as Frieza, when he sees her hands move to his face. Although he has an idea of what she's going to do with her, but he is still warmed by the soft contact that her hands make with either side of his face. This touch, is only temporary, he knows, it won't last, more than she's doing it, to bring him back to her.

'Honey,' she pronounces smoothly, inadvertently soothing his thoughts to calm down, 'talk, and I'll listen. The time will come when _I'll_ do the talking, and then you'll have to listen, so you better use this talking time.'

'Oh, all right,' he accepts in defeat, to which she releases his face.

At this point, he knows that dragging it out for much longer, will not get him out of confessing. Although patiently silent about it, Chi-Chi clearly has no intention of going to bed, until they have spoken about this.

'Chi-Chi,' he exhales, dropping his eyes just below hers, 'there's a part inside of me, that's negatively reactive. It's so different from who I usually am, that I feel like a stranger to myself when it happens.'

After getting out that first part, he lifts his eyes back to hers, to see if she's starting to get angry with him yet. Fortunately, he finds that she's still just waiting for him to finish, so he gets back to saying his piece, choosing to use straightforward examples this time around.

'When I fought Frieza for the first time,' he remembers, 'there came a time, when he stopped being an opponent to me. He stopped being an opponent that I had to defeat, and he became a threat to me. He made me feel like my strength, which I'd worked so hard to get, was threatened. And that made me hate him.'

Now that he's said it aloud, it probably sounds simple and even childish, but the truth is, before Frieza, he'd never felt _threatened_ by an opponent exactly. In the past, he had felt like he would lose if he didn't pick up his game, and he had felt like he had to push himself harder to overcome an opponent, but he never once felt like he was threatened, the way that Frieza made him feel. Frieza, made him feel a special way.

The thing with Frieza, wasn't that Frieza kept calling him names, or putting his birth race down, or anything like that, it was actually that Frieza kept pushing, and pushing to a point where Goku was starting to doubt his own strength. That _doubt_ , in turn, made him feel threatened by Frieza. It wasn't about Frieza being stronger than him, because there had been people before Frieza who had been stronger than him.

What it really came down to, was the fact that he actively felt like his strength was nothing that mattered at all. For every act of retaliation that he dealt to Frieza, his certainty in his strength started dying, eventually making him believe, that his strength meant nothing. And that… That made him feel a dark emotion towards Frieza.

'I don't like that there's a place inside of me that can create hate for someone else,' he admits, suddenly feeling at his lowest in front of his wife.

He doesn't want her to hear him speak about things such as hate. Hate? No, that's not who he is. He's a forgiving person, he gives second chances, and he would never just outright condemn someone. Being himself is something that he prides himself on. Whether he's classified an Earthling or a Saiyan, he's only proud of the fact that he is Son Goku; and that makes him himself.

'Hmm,' Chi-Chi simply hums, indicating that she's listening to him, just waiting for him to finish his say.

'It was sort of the same with Black,' he continues. 'Black made me feel threatened too, and because of that, I hated him.'

With Black, as it also hadn't been with Frieza, it hadn't been about his invincibility, or his limitless abilities. His hatred for Black, stemmed from a threat that he felt was made towards his strength. Almost in the same way that Frieza did, Black made him doubt his own strength, even though he didn't show it, and so, that caused a negative emotional response in him, to counter the threat that he felt.

'That's what it is,' he begins to end his confession. 'I guess, that part of me, reacts emotionally instead of rationally, and then, I'm just a different person. If I feel threatened like that, I just lose who I am.'

He doesn't even know if he made her understand what he means, what he meant to explain to her, but he sure hopes that she got a little gist of it, and why it makes him feel comfortable to confess it. More than anything else, he prides himself on being himself, and so exposing that unpleasant side of him, is as undesirable as it is.

As he looks at her, waiting for her verdict, his insides squirm with nerves that half expect her to pull on a disappointed expression. If not anger, he expects her to show him her disappointment. Chi-Chi, though, apparently doesn't appear to have caught much of what he said, because she doesn't break out in anger, like he imagined that she would. That doesn't make him feel better in the least.

Considering that she's always taught their boys that hatred is an awfully powerful thing, that eats someone's soul away, he expects her to give him a lecture about harbouring a part within him, that produces hatred.

'Aren't you going to say something?' he asks, still feeling every bit of nervous that is possible to feel.

For what seems like a long minute, she only considers him, her face giving nothing away, and then only asks, 'So then, Whis threatens you?'

 _Does_ Whis threaten him?

That's a good question, one that he has an answer for.

Now, before he gives her his answer, anyone can try to debate on this, and point out very clearly, that both Frieza and Black's circumstances had been different, to those of Whis', and that they shouldn't even be drawn to the same comparison. However, he'll wholeheartedly disagree, because a threat on his strength, _is a threat on his strength_ , and that's just how it.

Frieza made him feel like his strength was nothing.

Black made him feel like his strength was nothing.

And Whis… Well, Whis…

Here's how it is; overall, he likes to know that Chi-Chi exists, that his family exists. Wherever he is, whatever he's doing, he likes to know that his wife and his family, are just _there_. He draws strength from that _stability_ , and consequently, it gives him a strong sense of motivation to keep getting so much stronger than he would've done, if he didn't have that anchor of stability to remind him. Chi-Chi just being there, to him, means that she's waiting for him, having faith in him, without looking for external sources to anchor her down.

'Gohan said that because Whis is like me, I'm scared of the thought of you liking him, the way that you like me, but that's not it,' he finally answers.

'But,' she softly counters, her eyes fixed on his, 'if Whis can bring out reactions in you that only Frieza and Black could, how can you say that he doesn't threaten you in some way?'

No, he didn't say that Whis doesn't threaten him, he simply pointed out that Gohan's reasoning, isn't the reason at all. For a while, he'd wondered if what Gohan suggested was a subconscious possibility that he wasn't aware of, but with Gohan having been here tonight, he realised that no, it isn't that. He's glad too, to know that it isn't anywhere to close to Gohan's primary assumption, because truth be told, if he felt like he was in danger of losing his wife to another man…

Oh, for his own mental well being, he'd rather not think about the damage he would have to do, to prevent that.

'Whis with you, makes me feel…' upon trailing off, he closes his eyes to picture the words in his mind. 'He makes me feel like I'm not enough, when he's with you. He makes me doubt myself as being enough for you, and that doubt threatens me.'

With his eyes closed, he tries to picture it, the way he'd done for Frieza and Black. How can he explain it to her, that it isn't about Whis being stronger, nice, and a food lover? Can he make her understand that it's simply that Whis isn't trying to be a replacement, but somehow still comes out as a more equipped possible replacement, who makes him feel like he's not enough for her? How can he paint it clearly for her, that Whis' presence, threatens his being –which is all of him- as being not sufficient?

He'll try, he thinks as opens his eyes, he'll try to make it clear to her, so that she knows once and for all what his problem with Whis is.

'You remember how I asked you, that I care about just being myself?' he wants to know.

Chi-Chi slowly nods as if she knows just where is heading with his question. And maybe she does know where his taking this confession of his. If she understood the shameful part of him having a dark heart, she might just know how that connects to his problem with her and Whis.

'Being myself,' he tries his best to get the words out correctly, 'means being dedicated to fulfilling my desire to be stronger than everyone, but…'

His only reason for pausing, is to hope that he gets the right words out. He knows that sometimes, with him especially, the right words don't always come out, rather, they stay inside his heart.

'It also,' he picks up after showing her a faint smile, 'means knowing that I have someone stronger than me, _always_ waiting for me, when she doesn't have to.'

'Goku…' she slowly moves her head from side to side, clearly disagreeing with him.

'No, Chi-Chi listen,' he gently insists, 'you are so much stronger than I am, but you still have that hope in me, which feeds my worth, I guess. But then Whis comes along, and he wants to take that waiting place, which is kind of like the indication that I _am_ enough for you. And that threatens me, Chi-Chi. It makes me react emotionally towards him, but in bad way. Does that make sense to you?'

'It does,' she simply answers.

This surprises him, because he doesn't think that he would've understood himself just like that, which is why he sceptically asks, 'So, you understand why I didn't want to tell you all this?'

'You're ashamed,' she replies in a matter-of-fact tone, 'because you're one complete person all of the time, but you have a tiny part inside of you, that can overtake you, making you feel weak in return. Your shame, is that for all your strength, you have no control over yourself when that tiny part takes over. I understand, Goku,' she says.

She does, he silently marvels, unable to generate words to say to her just yet. She really does understand what he's been beating about to say. Evidently, when she said that she wanted to understand him, she really did set out to understand him. It makes him feel a renewed sense of guilt and apology, because had he confessed this sooner, she would've understood right away.

Oh man, his heart sinks, _now_ what does he do about wanting to apologise to her and ask for her forgiveness?

He'd temporarily put those factors out of his mind, when he was trying to explain himself to her, but now they've returned to the front of his mind, and he doesn't even know if he's allowed to make his apologies to her yet. He has to try, though.

'Chi-Chi-'

She doesn't allow him to say more than her name, before she cuts him off with her own words. 'When you feel threatened, you react badly. I understand that, Goku, but it doesn't mean that you have a bad heart.'

Really, he likes that she can tell him that he doesn't have a bad heart, even after all the things that he's told her, but he can't accept it within himself. Whatever the case may be, there _shouldn't_ be a bad part within him, that's capable of leading him to that uncontrollable emotional path.

He's the man who hesitated to throw a Spirit Bomb down to Kid Buu, solely because Vegeta was down there with Buu. Throwing that attack, would've meant saving the entire universe, for the sacrifice of one life, (that was already willing to sacrifice itself anyway) but he still refused to immediately do it.

In the being of a man like that, shouldn't exist nastiness, and that's just what he believes. Chi-Chi can continue to tell him otherwise, except, he knows that they won't always agree on the same things, all the time; whether good or bad. In any case, he needs to get to the point of asking for her forgives, while his feelings are still fresh,

'You really think so, Chi-Chi?' he asks. 'Does that mean that you'll forgive me for earlier?'

Smiling genuinely, as though to assure him without a doubt, she answers with, 'I am sure of it, but you _are_ wrong about one thing…'

So… He can't help it begin to sulk as he considers this. So, she won't forgive him, then? Even after explaining all this, he'll still have to find some romantic gesture that will bring her heart, full of forgiveness, back to him? Why does that seem like the most impossible thing in the world to him?

'I'm not stronger than you, Goku,' she picks up her talking again. 'No matter how much I push you a certain way, I'm not really stronger than you. You're just too scared I'll cut you off if you go against me.'

That's partly true, but no, she is stronger than him.

'Yes, you are,' he contradicts her heartily. 'Look, I would easily lift a mountain with one hand if I had to, but I couldn't ever imagine being able to carry grocery bags without complaining about it. They wouldn't be physically heavy for me, but I don't have that willpower to endure carrying them, because that's a responsibility that I'm not ready to have. You're strong like that Chi-Chi. You have so much endurance, even when it hurts.'

He can attest to that without fail, because her endurance is outstanding. Like he said, even when it hurts, she endures all the way.

'Your strength, compared to mine, isn't physical, but your endurance is your strength. You're so much better at that than I will ever be, Honey. Outside of fighting, endurance isn't something that I'm really good at, and that's what makes you so much stronger than me. That heart of yours, that carries all of your endurance and willpower, is how you're so much stronger than me.'

She can try, and try to talk him out of feeling the way that he does, but it won't _ever_ work. Even if he dies a thousand times over, and comes back with a clean book, he'd still think the same of her. She is, in fact, the single most person in the whole universe, who can brag –even though she doesn't- that she has limitless Son Goku, in the palm of her hand. If that's not absolute strength, he doesn't know what is.

'I even bet that you could have a broken wrist, and still go about your everyday life, only wincing in silence. You'd be feeling the pain in silence, making it seem like it's not there, but I'd be screaming about the pain at every turn. You know how I am when it comes to those little pains. They just hurt so much, but you take little pains with as much strength as you do the big pains. You're-'

Arms suddenly clinging around his neck, and a familiar scent dancing around his nose, abruptly keep him from saying any more of what he meant to finish with. Although briefly thrown off by this sudden attack, he soon comes to realise that Chi-Chi propelled herself into him, to cling to him like she's doing.

But why?

'Uh… Chi-Chi?' he appreciates the hug, loves it even, but…

Her immediate answer, is to hold on even tighter than she had initially, which leaves him to wonder if it's because he said something to her, and she's finally found it within herself to forgive him. That would be ideal for him. Shenron knows that he needs her forgiveness after all this.

'Does this mean that you forgive me?' he decides to test, sounding nervous about it.

'I wouldn't be holding you like this,' she replies, sounding a degree to tears, 'if you didn't just say the most romantic thing to me ever.'

Romantic? Him? Really? Wow.

That's all well and perfect, he thinks, still feeling nervous, because he has one less thing to worry about now that the romantic challenge is out of the way, however-

'But,' he cautiously presses, 'I still need to hear it.'

It will make him feel several dimensions better, to hear her say that she forgives him. In this case, the words matter the most to him. Her actions matter too, although right here, he desperately needs her to _speak_ out that she forgives him.

'Yes,' she resigns, still clinging to him. 'It's a yes, Goku, I forgive you.'

Even though he doesn't want to end her solid hug, he forces himself to pull her away from him, just so he can have the delight of looking into her eyes, and confirm that all his past wrongs, his black heart and whatever else, have been forgiven.

'Thank you so much, Chi-Chi,' he breathes out in relief, going an extra step to say, 'and I promise, I'll apologise to Whis first thing tomorrow too.'

He can't promise that he'll stop feeling the way that he does about Whis and her together, but he can apologise for the rudeness that he's been displaying towards his teacher lately. Whether he likes it or not, Chi-Chi does like Whis, and she does want him in her life, so he will have to make an effort somewhere.

'Tomorrow is Sunday,' Chi-Chi shakes her head. 'Let's just stay inside, okay? You can talk to Whis some other time.'

After easily forgiving him, who is he to deny her a simple request that he'll enjoy anyway?

'You're the best, Chi-Chi!' he cries happily, and then remembers something else. 'But will you take off those clothes now?'

Her fresh amused laugh, mixed with the soft expression of fondness in her eyes for him, confirm that yes, she'll do this one thing for him.

Thank goodness, he breathes in, those clothes are the last reminder of an unpleasant memory, he'll be glad to see them put away.

* * *

Chapter 20, **Just The Same.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20, **Just The Same.**

* * *

Long before her energy reaches where he's meditating and simultaneously being on the lookout for strange activity on Earth, he has his eyes open and ready for when she finally appears in front of him. As a readying sigh leaves him, he thinks that had it been anyone else, he would've continued to keep his eyes closed, until he found it _necessary_ to open them.

With Goku's wife, on the other hand, opening his eyes and being alert to listen to her when she finally appears in front of him, is _not negotiable_ ; he either does it, or he does it. Really, he either is ready, with his eyes fully open, his feet in position on the ground, and mentally expectant, _or_ he's all of that; no other option is available for him.

And that's precisely the thing about this woman.

On his life, he will swear over, and over again, that Son Chi-Chi, is the only person in the whole universe, who can get him to do things that he does _not_ want to do. Where other people, his other acquaintances, get his infamous unfazed and dismissive Piccolo attitude, she's exclusive to rousing different reactions and actions from him.

And he especially resents that.

He's not even sure _how_ she does it, how she has _that_ much influence over him, if he's being honest, but she does it excellently (or perhaps magically) either way. That is why his eyes are already open, with his feet on attention, waiting for the second that Nimbus drops her, bringing her face to face with him. Thankfully, he's learned how to tell of her approach through her personal energy mark, because he's never been able to keep up with Nimbus' movements.

'Chi-Chi,' he gruffly acknowledges, welcomes her, in fact, before she jumps off the cloud.

By the time that she's firmly on her feet opposite him, and the yellow transporting cloud, (which she conveniently _only_ uses to come to him, but never calls for when she needs her errands run) is already zooming away from them, his complete attention, is set only for her and on her. It's for that reason that his eyes catch the boots held fast in her right hand.

'Good morning, Piccolo,' she greets him, a unique smile on her face.

Seeing her smile, he'll internally admit that rare, though her smiles directed towards him are, when she _does_ smile at him, she does it meaningfully, making sure that he's sustained for as long as he doesn't see her smile. Not that he cares about that, though… He's simply thinking about it.

Nonetheless, in response to her greeting and smile, he curtly nods with closed eyes. By doing that, he wants one thing to be absolutely clear between them, and that is that while she _may_ be able to draw reactions from him, like none else can, in essence, he's still who he is. He needs her to be clear on the fact that he still has the dignity to maintain who he is at heart, that her presence in his life, her dictation, doesn't alter his core. While he does afford her the attentions and reactions, that she magically forces out of him, he still has his pride intact enough to remain who he is, while catering to her.

'I haven't seen you around in a while,' she points out to him.

Really, he holds himself just enough to keep a soft snort contained within, she's something else, something different, this woman…

Here she is, making her words sound like an accusation, when it should really be a statement; a curious observation from her, more accurately. She is making it sound as though she's charging him guilty of a crime against her. And this is precisely it with this woman, because overall, to his displeasure, she brings an attitude out of him that makes him sensitive to her thoughts and feelings, that probably only Gohan and Pan bring out of him, and that _shouldn't_ be the case.

'Listen…' he starts with trying to comfort her enough, to make her stop accusing him, but he changes his mind to finish with, 'I have no reason to be around, if Goku is.'

Honestly, that's how he feels. That's how it is, and she can't convince him otherwise, because that's just _the way it is_.

Instantly frowning, she counters with, 'Yes, you do,' like she means it.

Maybe she does mean it, he thinks as he studies her face, but his proof is in their interactions. What really happens between them, is that she makes him pay for Goku's absences. It's unfortunate for him that way, but she only makes him fill in for Goku, and run errands, like he has nothing better to do. It's like he's a second husband to her, only a lesser stand-in, whose only job is to be punished for his friend's mistakes, and so no, he will not be fooled into believing that he has a role outside of that.

'No, I don't,' he insists, refusing to let her have that.

'Think what you will,' she seems to resign, because her frown softens, 'but remember that you come around by yourself. I come to you when I need you, remember?'

This woman! Why in the world did she have to go and point that out? What, doesn't she think that he knows that he goes over to their home of his own volition? Of course, he knows that! He doesn't need her, reminding him as a way of subtly pointing out his own contradictions! He has his own memory for that, and yes, he'll use it however he sees it fit, even if means ignoring glaring facts.

'Hmmpf,' he grunts, only so he can efficiently redirect the topic of discussion. 'What are you doing here?'

'I need an upgrade,' is her answer while she promptly holds out her boots for him.

No surprise there. Once he saw the boots in her hand, he immediately knew why she came to find him at this hour of the morning. After all, she rarely leaves her house before the sun has risen. Also, there's no one else that can increase the weight of her boots for her. If there was someone else who could do it, he doubts that she would come looking for him at all, because like she mentioned before, he _makes_ himself available for her to boss around.

Funny how that is; that he hates running errands for her, and yet, he always finds himself available when she needs errands run.

In any case, he doesn't waste time in sticking out the palm of his hand, to perform the weight enhancement that she requires from him. Having done this before, he knows precisely how to increase the weight on her boot. His job, is always to make them heavy enough to push her to use more strength, but light enough to ensure that she can move around.

'How's that?' he asks, his eyes travelling to back to hers.

The fact that she doesn't wince, or make her arm drop lower from the new weight, is enough of a tell that he did his job just right. Although, he can't ignore that she has incredible strength when it comes to lifting things. She has a way of making heavy things look light in her arms, that when either he or Goku bring it into their arms, it's in a state of relaxation, only to be surprised by how heavy it actually is.

'Enough for now,' she answers. 'Thank you.'

'Well,' he clears his throat, 'you know where to find me next time.'

And this is their relationship. This is how they are. This is what they do. They don't really engage in small talk, because none of them are _that_ patient for small talk. They both get straight to the point, without beating around the bush.

It's one of the _only_ things that he will ever admit about her, but truth be told, he likes that about her. With her, he never has to wonder if she's thinking more than she's saying, because if she's thinking something, _oh_ , she'll say it without holding back. When she needs to shout at him, call him out or have an open talk with him, she does it without fear, or any attempt to lie about and hide her feelings.

'I know,' she says.

Feeling like they've reached the end of their time together, he crosses his arms to imprint their agreement into her memory.

'Good.'

It's a single word, he muses, and yet, he knows well enough to rest assured that it's enough of a promise to her. The other of the only things that he will ever admit about her, is that she is a woman who doesn't require much, a woman who is assured with simplicity. Thus, he knows that his singular word of a promise, is enough. He knows that she knows, that however long it takes, he'll be here. Waiting. As he always is.

'So… Should I fly you back home?' he offers, now that assurances and promises are out of the way.

Before she responds, it's the way that she looks at him, that has him certain that she's not quite finished with him yet. In his mind, the immediate thought that hits him, is not welcome. More accurately, he doesn't like the immediate thought that fills his mind.

'Actually…' she looks at him

Something is wrong, is what his mind tells him. Something is wrong, and that is the reason why she's here to see him at this time of the morning. She's never in her life come to see him when the stars are still in the sky, just before day surfaces.

'What is it?' he asks on concealed alert.

Did something happen at home? Is that why she accused him of not being around in a while? Did Goku somehow leave impulsively, and left her vulnerable at the wrong time? Or wait… Does it have something to do with Whis and Lord Beerus?

Whis and Lord Beerus, his mind repeats, and like mismatched stones stacked atop each other, his composure begins to topple.

He knew it! He's always known it! From the moment that he heard it, he always knew it! He knew that Whis would bring her down one way or another at some point. What did that angel, and that unpredictable god do to her, that he wasn't alert enough to help prevent?

This is undesirable. Very.

As a result of his composure falling apart, making way for serious concern, he uncrosses his arms and lifts his feet off the ground to levitate to her. Walking, he deems, will take too long to close the distance between them, and bring him closer to her.

'Chi-Chi,' he gets out in a serious tone, 'tell me, what is it?'

He won't dare to pull the words from her mouth, by directly asking if Whis did something that threatens her livelihood, but if she lets a second second follow the first without an answer from her, he'll dare to. This is serious, and he won't let three seconds pass without an answer from her.

'Nothing, really,' she shakes her head lightly, 'I was just thinking how you're close to Goku, and even closer to Gohan and Pan…'

And?

He doesn't ask it aloud, because she still has that leeway to confess the misdeeds of Whis on her life, before he comes right out and mentions that angel's name. His hands begin to fold together, just thinking of that angel and his god's names, because seriously, he's not joking about this.

He always knew that those two were too extravagant to be looking for the company of Chi-Chi. As modestly distinguished as Chi-Chi is from Bulma, he figured that sooner or later, they'd discover how simple and earthed Chi-Chi really is, and thus grow bored of her. Unfortunately, he suspects that that has already happened, and the consequences of Lord Beerus' boredom, have him feeling this urgent about getting to the bottom of this.

'Chi-Chi, speak!' he half exclaims.

For the love of something, he doesn't want her to beat around the bush about the important thing at hand. She's never been one to keep the truth in around him, so why should he allow her to play around like this, when she's in possible danger of being extinct? Never mind if only a second has passed between her previous answer and his new command.

For someone usually attentive of his responses and expressions, he can't understand how she can't read the urgency in this matter. Really, he's starting to feel as though he's slowly charging up his Special Beam Canon, while the enemy is advancing on him.

'I said it's nothing,' she tells him calmly, apparently not even the slightest bit aware of how he feels. 'I only wondered if you feel jealous of Whis too?'

Jealous?

Dear someone, if his composure was falling before, now, he just feels crushed; defeated even to move. All that, _he spoke and reacted_ , for nothing? He felt like he had to build up a defence, not even for himself, but for her, for nothing?

How… Deflating. And a little alarming, to be honest.

'Me?' he half outrages. 'What reason would I have to feel jealous about Whis? He's no concern of mine.'

It's true, on the whole, Whis is really no concern of his. He's neither Goku, nor Vegeta, he's Piccolo, and he takes care of his own training in his own way, at own his pace, without help. However, Whis and Chi-Chi pretending to be friends, when they have no common ground between them, he can't get behind. But that does not spell jealousy on his part.

After eyeing him in a special way, almost as if to say that she doesn't believe him, she poses, 'Then why haven't I been seeing you around lately?'

Pfft! She's really taking his absence for jealousy? Because if that's what she's doing, then she couldn't be more mistaken.

'I already told you,' he answers, sounding offended by her assumption, 'that I have no reason to be around, if Goku is. He _is_ your husband, after all. Don't mistake that for jealousy.'

Why do they have to go through this again? He's not one for repetitions, because the only things that they do to him, is make him irritated enough to verbally lash out. Why can't she just accept it as he said it; Goku _is_ her husband, while he's just the punishable stand-in for that said husband. And besides, if he was jealous like she thinks, wouldn't it fitting for him to stay alert, to stay closer to her, than distance himself? She clearly didn't think this assumption of hers through.

Nodding like she understands the words that came from his mouth, she asks, 'Do you know what jealousy is, Piccolo?'

Because he doesn't want to indulge in this particular conversation, he doesn't give her an answer her. In his mind, though, after physically taking a step back from her, to separate himself from her jealousy assumptions, he answers that yes, of course he knows what jealousy is. The key issue here is, that no, he doesn't want to talk about the subject of jealousy with her.

When it comes right down to it, he _really_ has no reason to be jealous of her and Whis being friends. He may not like the idea of the two of them being together, and he might find it highly suspicious, because Bulma is more of the person that people pay attention to, not Chi-Chi, however that doesn't in any way mean that he's jealous.

'Okay,' she seems to resign when she realises that she won't get an answer from him. 'I'll tell you what jealousy is.'

No, his mind aggressively refuses, you really don't have to. I know what jealousy is.

'It's the fear of seeing someone that you have a connection to, whatever it may look like, with someone that you think has the ability to treat that someone better, than you think you treat them,' she still offers her explanation, clearly not having heard his mental refusal.

Inaccurate, his mind rebuts her explanation, which she still doesn't hear, because she goes on to say more.

'It's fear that the other person can, and will do something for that someone, without stalling, where you would hesitate for your own reasons. It's also fear of being rejected by someone, for someone else.'

All of a sudden, he feels like he's got some unpleasant object stuck in his throat, so he clears it to relieve himself of the feeling.

'Jealousy, Piccolo,' Chi-Chi continues in the same tone as before, 'causes insecurity, and insecurity, threat. Being a fighter, you're familiar with threat enough to know that threat, produces all types of reactions in people. Now, I know what jealousy does to Goku, but I don't know about you, and I was wondering…'

'Don't wonder,' he curtly cuts through her pause, feeling the need to protect his chest with folded arms. 'Like I said, I have nothing to feel jealous about, but I must warn you to be careful around Whis. That's all.'

He will, under no circumstance, admit to anything that she said to him. He will maintain his position, and that is and will be the end of it. She will never, no matter which arguments she uses, be able to get him to a place where he admits to feeling jealous over something as her company with Whis.

'Why?' she asks, curiously slanted her head to take a better look at him. 'Whis won't do anything to me, he's my friend.'

Friend? That's what she thinks of Whis? They've known each other for no longer than two weeks, and already, she's calling him a friend? She should be careful about that, since it takes longer than that to gain someone's trust, to keep it, and return it…

'You may think he's your friend,' he counters a bit too coldly, 'but I don't trust Lord Beerus. That god is unpredictable, and thus, Whis is unpredictable. In the end, Whis will always side with Lord Beerus, which is why you shouldn't get caught up in their centre.'

'Piccolo-' she starts as if to try and reason with him, although, he doesn't give her the chance to finish.

'His loyalty to Lord Beerus,' sternly comes out of his mouth, 'puts you in unpredictable danger. And listen, I'd prefer it, if I didn't have to explain to Gohan that something happened to you, because of Lord Beerus.'

He hastily pulled that out of his head to shut down her 'friend' talk, and really, he doesn't know if it's believable. What he cares for, is whether or not it worked to get her to see reason, that nothing good could come from hanging out with Whis. Goku hanging out with Whis is another whole thing altogether, because it's part of Goku's genetics to worm his way into anyone's heart; positively or otherwise negatively. However Chi-Chi and Whis… No. Just no. Their worlds have no parallels. And she's not exactly the type that follows the crowd to blend in. She's her own person, well set in, in who she is.

'You _are_ jealous, then,' she states through a curious smile. 'I wasn't sure at first.'

What? Was she even listening to a word that he said? Did she just come here to be difficult today? Where were her ears when he told her that she shouldn't confuse one thing with another?

'I don't trust Lord Beerus,' he firmly repeats for clarity, 'and that automatically means that I don't trust Whis.'

'Fine,' she accepts with a small nod to emphasise that she believes him, 'you care, but you're also jealous.'

If he could blow out a long breath to indicate his growing impatience with her insistence, he'd gladly do it. Only, at this point, showing her any type of will to argue with her on that, will only urge her to prove her point, until he reluctantly accepts it.

Oh, does he know just how fluent she is at using words to prove her point. And not only that, she usually has a pitch to match her words, that helps drive in the point much sooner than it should. Because he doesn't like being subjected to that side of her, he'll keep completely silent.

'Deny it all you want, Piccolo,' she tells him matter-of-factedly, 'but you _are_ jealous of Whis. It may not be the traditional jealousy, but you're not a traditional guy either, so… In fact, not even Goku is willing to accept why he's _really_ jealous of Whis, but both of you are.'

Well, he begrudgingly accepts, if she's putting him in the same category as Goku, it's pretty much set in for her that he's jealous. In her books, he's never far behind Goku, hence his role in her life.

'Believe what you will,' he says, looking the other way.

'I do,' she plainly says, which doesn't surprise him one bit, 'but I need you to know that you don't have any reason to be jealous. Whis or not, I'll treat you just the same. I'll see you just the same. And I'll talk to you just the same. Nothing has changed, Piccolo. Whis is just one friend, and it doesn't mean that I'm moving to another city. Nothing is different.'

Nothing is different, she says.

That should make him unhappy. It should make him unhappy, because he's always shouldering all the responsibility that Goku should be, when he isn't, but…

'As you want,' he says, still keeping his face the other way.

In that way, he hopes for her to interpret it as him, not being bothered by her inclusion. It's most likely not how she'll interpret it as, seeing as she knows him, but…

He feels a soft hand on his forearm then, causing him to turn back to her. She lets go almost as soon as they make eye contact, but the brief moment that their eyes meet while her hand is still on his forearm, is something meaningful, and that's all that he'll think about that.

'Good,' she tells him sincerely, 'because I wouldn't know what to do without you. You're important.'

That calls for a clearing of his throat, he tells himself, right before he promptly does it to offer, 'Do you want me to fly you back?'

Laughing heartily, she answers that, 'No. I promised Goku that we would just stay in today. If you came around, he might get ideas in his head.'

There, she's exactly confirming his point; if Goku is around, he has no business being at their home. Mostly, anyway.

'I won't be staying,' he insists.

Even though she doesn't answer him, he can tell that she's contemplating the idea. In his opinion, she should just let him fly her back. For one thing, it's still a bit too dark, and for another, if she wants to get a head start on breakfast like she usually does, it would be better if she allows him to fly her back.

'It's dark out, Chi-Chi,' he tells her as a way of trying to encourage her to let him do it.

'Okay,' she finally accepts. 'Nimbus gets time off this time.'

* * *

Chapter 21, **Kisses.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21, **Kisses**.

* * *

His eyes are open a little bit, and he still feels a little sleepy, but he wants to drink something. Sometimes, he wakes up like this, still sleepy, but thirsty. And like he does sometimes, when this happens to him, he carelessly climbs out of his bed, and starts walking out of his room, to the kitchen.

Milk. He actually wants to drink milk.

His mom says that drinking water in the mornings is the best thing to do, that it's healthy, but water is _so_ tasteless in the morning. For him, milk is better, because she adds honey into it. She thinks that he doesn't see her put a little bit of honey into his milk, but he does. He doesn't mind it, though, he actually likes it better that way.

To the kitchen, he says to himself in his mind, he has to go the kitchen for his milk. He bets that his mom is already in there. She always is. In the mornings, -and when he comes from school, and from playing with Trunks- his mom is always awake and in the kitchen. Sometimes, he wonders if his mom knows how to sleep.

He should ask her about that, Goten thinks as his short legs carelessly carry him out of his bedroom door, his feet making a shuffling sound on the floor while he walks to the kitchen. It helps a lot that after his mom says goodnight to him every night, she doesn't close his bedroom door. He doesn't know why, because he's a pretty strong guy, but when he wakes up in the mornings, he never has enough energy to open doors. Not his bedroom, not the bathroom door, and not the fridge door. He just finds it so hard to open doors, when his eyes are still sleepy.

But that's okay, because his mom is always awake and she leaves the doors open for him, and when he wants milk like he wants it now, she's always there to open the fridge for him. She also helps with warming his milk to drink. _Ugh_ , he doesn't like any of that warming stuff. He can't do it by himself anyway. Even if he could, his mom always tells him to stay _away_ from her stove –him and his dad, actually. He's just glad that his mom is always there for that.

Just like he knew that he would, he finds his mother in the kitchen. She always is, so he had no doubt about her being in here. On school days, after she wakes him up, she comes straight to the kitchen. On no-school days, she doesn't come to wake him up in the mornings, because she goes straight to the kitchen, to make him a really big breakfast. And for his dad, if his dad is at home with them. On days like that, when he doesn't have to go to school, he always has to wake himself up.

'Mom,' he calls for her, rubbing his eyes to take the sleepiness away.

'Morning, baby,' she greets him, turning away from her work to look at him.

Oops, he shyly thinks. He always forgets to greet her in the mornings. Each night, when she kisses him goodnight, he always tells himself that he'll remember to greet her first the next morning, but he always forgets.

'Morning, Mom,' he softly greets her back, showing her small smile.

'Did you pee?' she asks him.

Uh-oh, he thinks, freezing a little bit in his place. He forgot to do that too. But also, why does she _always_ have to remind him to pee when he wakes up? And when he goes to bed? He's big enough to pee on his own!

'Mhm-hm,' he hums, shaking his head.

'Did you brush your teeth, and wash your face?' she asks.

'Mhm-hm,' he hums again.

'Are you at least wearing socks on your feet, Goten?'

Shaking his head, he hums, 'Mhm-hm,' but when he looks down at his feet to confirm this, he finds that one of his feet, does have a sock on them.

Oh! There's one sock on one foot.

He sharply looks up to see if his mom can see him and his one sock. If she wonders if he's lying to her, it's not his fault. He always goes to bed with socks on both of his feet, but he almost always wakes up with feet without socks. Sometimes, not so many times, he wakes up with one foot inside a sock, and the other with no sock.

This morning, it looks like one foot of his wanted a sock, while the other didn't want one. It's only a little embarrassing that he told his mom that he wasn't wearing socks, when he actually has one sock on.

'I have one sock, Mom,' he confesses, after embarrassed giggles. 'Can I have some milk now?'

He got one out of three, and at least, only one foot of his is touching the floor. That should be enough for him to get some milk, he thinks, but his mom only looks at him without saying anything. Her silence can only mean one thing, he tells himself, and that is that he forgot to use the most important word of all.

'Please,' he quickly corrects himself.

He really never means to forget what his mom tells him, but when the time comes, his brain just forgets the things that she keeps telling him over and over. It's not that he wants to be a bad child, who always makes his mom repeat everything to him, but... He doesn't know, he just forgets when he needs to remember the important things that she tells him to say and do, or not do.

'Tell you what,' she smiles at him, 'brush your teeth. Wash your face. Find your other sock, and wear it. Pee and wash your hands. Go to wake your father, and _then_ , come for breakfast, and your milk.'

All that, he frowns a little, does he really have to? Why can't he just have milk first, and then do all that other stuff? He doesn't even have school today, so there's no need to do all that. But, he tells himself, if he thinks about it, there's one thing that she told him to do, that will be a lot of fun. If he has to go and wake up his dad without his mom there, that means one thing; he can jump on their bed. His dad will definitely let him do that, because his dad is the coolest!

'Okay, Mom,' he happily answers, excited by the thought of jumping on his parents' bed.

Not to waste any more time, he rushes back to his room to find his sock. He quickly finds it between his sheets, and just as quickly pulls it onto his empty foot. Okay, he knows that his mother gave him _an order_ of things to do for a reason, and he even remembers that specific given order, but she won't know the difference. As long as he gets everything done while she is busy in the kitchen, it's fine.

The sock is on his foot, he mentally checks off one thing. Now, it's time for the bathroom, to wash his face, and then brush his teeth.

It's wrong, and if his mom finds out, she'll shake her head at him, but the thing is, this morning in the bathroom, he doesn't want to risk getting soap in his eyes. It's always so annoying when he has to run to his mom and have her wash it out for him, that he can't risk that today. Today, he wants, as soon as possible to wash his face and brush his teeth, and then go to jump on his parents' bed.

He quickly splashes water onto his face, before reaching for his toothbrush and the toothpaste. Of all the things that he has to do in the bathroom, brushing his teeth, is his favourite. He likes to hover in the air, like he's doing now, and look himself in the mirror as he runs the toothbrush over his teeth. His big brother taught him that it's not safe to brush his teeth in an up and down way, but nah... Up and down is fun.

Up and down creates more foam, and that way, he gets to make silly faces at himself in the mirror, with a foaming mouth. The foam is his favourite part of brushing his teeth. He likes the minty and sweet taste of toothpaste too, but it's the foam that's really, really, special to him. With the greenish foam coming from his mouth, and all around his mouth, he can't help it do something, like make silly faces at his reflection.

While doing his silly brushing, his brush pushes hard against his bottom front tooth. It's not painful, it's just that for days now, that tooth has been loose, and moving around too much. He didn't tell his mom, dad and big brother, not even Trunks, because he might get into trouble for getting his tooth loose. Until he remembers what he did to get it loose, he won't make it looser by brushing it too hard.

Thinking this, he rinses his mouth and is almost out of the bathroom door, when he remembers that he still has to pee. And wash his hands.

Maybe, this is why his mom _always_ tells him to pee. He's so silly. Sometimes, he remembers to pee, but sometimes, when he's really excited, he forgets all about peeing, until it gets to be a bit too much for him, and he can't hold it in anymore. Quickly, he pees, washes his hands without soap, because his mom won't know anyway, and then he flies off to wake his dad.

'Hey, Daaaad,' he pulls the last word while pushing the door open.

His mom didn't completely close their bedroom door, which is why he's able to easily push it open. When he steps inside the room, he sees from the door, that his father is still asleep. Obviously, his mom wouldn't have sent him here if his dad was awake. Waking up his dad, is his special job from his mom, and then only can he jump and down on their bed as much as he likes.

'Dad,' he calls again when he goes over to his dad's side, 'wake up!'

It seems like his dad hears him, because he opens and closes his mouth like he took something in to chew it, but he doesn't wake up. He probably doesn't want to wake up yet, but his mom said that he should wake up, so Goten has no choice but to wake his dad. To properly wake his dad, he does the only thing that he thinks will work, and that is climbing on top of his sleeping dad.

'Wake up, Dad,' he tries again, using all of his might this time to shake his dad awake.

His shaking works, because his dad opens his eyes, closes them, and then opens them for a second time, saying a sleepy, 'Huh?'

'Wake up,' he says clearly for his dad to catch every word. 'Mom said I should wake you up.'

His dad begins to sit up in bed, which makes him slide down his dad's body, to his legs. Instead of feeling confused on how that happened, he finds it really fun, that he wants to do it again. It's only that his dad gets completely out of bed, that he doesn't get the chance to slide down like that anymore.

'Hey, Goten,' his dad blinks at him.

Yep, Goten decides, his dad is awake if he recognises him. That means, that he can ask his dad for the fun part, the part that brought him here in excitement.

'Hey, Dad,' he greets back, following it with his important question, 'Can I jump on your bed?'

Really, he likes his parents' bed. He likes that it's so much bigger than his, and that makes it better to jump on. His bed is small, and it doesn't make him spring at all when he jumps. His mom bought him a hard bed that doesn't move at all, so he doesn't even sink when he climbs into his bed. His mom says that beds like that are good for children to sleep on, though. But his parents' bed is different. It's soft and feels like a cushion when he lies on it, which he really, really like.

'Yeah, sure, Goten,' his dad smiles at him, and then drops his voice to warn him. 'Just don't let your mom hear you, okay. She'll kill us.'

'Yes!' he exclaims happily, already setting himself off to jumping.

This is so fun!

Jumping on their springy bed, is one of the fun things that he likes to do, which he's not really allowed to do. Sometimes, he thinks that he should not find it fun to jump on his parents' bed, when he can easily fly up into the air, and then criss-cross with styles in the air, but... Jumping is so much more fun, because he can do funny tricks while he's up in the air, just before he has to go back down, to jump up again. There are times when he misses to land properly, and he falls, but that's also fun for him to do.

He happily continues to jump using funny tricks, turning around this and that way, not paying attention to what his dad is doing, when suddenly hears his mom's voice call his name.

'Goten.'

High up in the air, close to the ceiling, the sound of his mom's voice frightens him so much, that he loses concentration of his jumping, to fall on the bed, onto his face and stomach. He won't even try to bring his face up from the sheets on the bed, because, uh-oh, he's in trouble now.

'Really, Goku,' he hears his mom say to his dad, 'would it kill you to discipline Goten just once?'

Maybe, he hopes, his mom will not get upset with him, only with his dad. It's not that he wants his dad to get into trouble, but if his mom gets upset with his dad, he may be saved from a long talk from his mom. His mom's talks are always long, and he doesn't like to listen to them.

'You know I can't do that, Chi-Chi,' his dad answers.

Because he feels curious to see if his mom has that 'You're-in-trouble,' look on her face for his dad, he lifts his face to spy on his parents. His spy plan doesn't work out well for him, because he finds his mom looking directly his way. He would've dived his face right back into the sheets, if she didn't point her finger at him, and speak to him.

'And you...'

Oops, he thinks, maybe he should apologize to her, and then she won't be upset with him.

'Your milk is ready...' his mom finishes, and he unfreezes a little bit. 'Now, both of you, go and have breakfast. I need to make up the beds.'

Safe, he thinks, glad to be getting off like this. Even his dad seems to think the same, because the way that his dad smiles at him, is something that he has seen before.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

He loves this day. He loves it, he loves it.

When he sees Trunks the next time, he'll tell him all about this day and how much he loves it. He'll tell Trunks that first, he got to jump on his parents bed, and then after breakfast, he and his dad went outside to train a little bit, while his mom did the cleaning.

It was fun when they trained together, him and his dad. It was even more fun when they swam in the lake. He likes training and aiming to be as strong as his dad, but the splashes that he gets to make in the water, are better than training. It was even fun when they had to wait on the grass, out in the sun, for their hair to dry, because his mom wouldn't like it if they came home with their hair wet from their swim. It was all fun, what they did together, but now, they're hungry.

'What do you think Mom made, Dad?' he asks as they wash their hands at the outside tap.

'Something delicious,' his dad answers.

Obviously, he thinks. His dad gives really silly answers sometimes. Everyone knows that his mom always makes delicious food. He is asking his dad, only because he wants to imagine what she could've made, so that he can start anticipating the meal already.

Looking at his dad carefully, he wants to know, 'Like something baked?'

'I hope so,' his dad says. 'Come on, I'll race you to the kitchen, Goten.'

And then his dad just takes off like that, leaving him a little bit confused.

'Not fair, Dad,' he shouts after his dad.

He didn't even get a warning to start racing with his dad, and by the time that he stops being shocked, closes the tap and run to catch up and beat his dad in the race, he knows that he's already lost the race. When he reaches the kitchen, he feels cheated by his dad, but he forgets all about it when he sees his dad with his mom.

He can't help it and look at them from where he is. His mom wouldn't approve of him being in the kitchen with them and not letting them that he's in here with him, but it's not his fault that they don't know. They have their backs to him, so it's not his fault. His dad's arm is around his mom's back, but his hand is pressed on the counter next to his mom's body, like his dad is keeping his mom there, so that she doesn't move. His dad's chin is also on his mom's shoulder, which can only mean that they are busy together.

They look nice like that, he thinks.

They look close to each other, and that's a good thing in their house; they all like to be close to each other. He doesn't know what he will feel like, if they stop being close like this in their house. Trunks is his friend, but Trunks and his parents aren't like him and his parents. Even though Trunks and his parents have a lot of nice and big things, Trunks doesn't have fun with his dad, like he has with his dad here at home.

'No,' his mom says to his dad.

He knows that 'no,' from his mom. Smiling to himself, he can already tell that his dad is trying to get in food before the time to eat has come. His father is just like that, always bothering his mom like that. And his mom is just like that, always pretending that she doesn't like it. _He_ sees her, though. When she thinks that no one is watching, when his dad is looking away, he always sees her smiling, which means that she likes him bothering him.

Smiling even more at his parents playing with each other like that, he watches as his dad lifts his chin off his mom's shoulder and whispers something in her ear.

'I said, no, Goku,' answers his mom. 'Just wait a little bit.'

Yep, he confirms, his dad definitely wants to eat before it's time, but his mom won't hear it. She's strict on that, but... Wait... He knows, if he helps his dad convince his mom, they might just get to eating earlier than she would usually allow.

'Mom,' he calls for, 'we want to eat, please.'

He didn't forget that important word this time, he proudly thinks. That should make his mom happy enough to listen to them begging her.

His mom, with his dad, when they hear his voice, both move like he scared them. It shouldn't, but it makes him smile even more to see that reaction from his parents. His mom is always the one surprising him, so it's really nice to know that he can surprise her too.

'Goten,' she scolds with a funny look on her face, 'don't sneak up on us like that!'

'Sorry, Mom,' he quickly apologises, only because he has to.

Most of the time, he only does things, because there's a reward in store for him if he does. The good thing is, he never forgets any promises that are made to him, and that motivates him to do things that he wouldn't normally want to do. Some other times, he does things because he wants to, because it would mean that his mom wouldn't get upset or sad with him. Right now, he won't accept that he snuck up on them, because he didn't. It's his parents who didn't hear him come in, but he has to apologise to make his mom happy, and get an early lunch with his dad.

'He only wants to eat,' his dad defends him.

'But lunch isn't ready,' she says, looking at the both of them.

'Aaaw,' he and his dad complain to her.

'Look,' she shows them a smile, 'if you really want to eat, you can get some fruit and biscuits, but that means no dessert after lunch today.'

No dessert after lunch? That's not fair. On no-school days, her desserts are always the best!

A little worried, he looks at his dad to help him out here. He has to know that fruit and biscuits are better than the dessert that she's making, before he agrees to it.

'What is dessert, Mom?'

'Hmpf,' she sounds. 'If you eat the fruit and biscuits, you'll never find out.'

That's so unfair, he wants to say to his mom. She can at least tell them about the dessert, so that they can know.

'But-' he starts to complain, but his dad shakes his head and stops him.

'Come on, Goten,' his dad tells him, sounding sad, 'let's go outside.'

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

He's glad that his mom is sitting down with them for dessert at least. It was just him and his dad for lunch, because she was busy, but now she's here. And he likes that. It's only that as she is sitting down to start her dessert, a voice sounds in the air.

'Hallo, Chi-Chi?'

Confused, he looks at his dad, but his dad is still eating his tart carefully. He looks at his mom, and she looks like she knows where the sound is coming from.

'Whis?' she speaks into a watch on her wrist, after she pushes her sleeve back.

'It's me,' he answers like he's singing. 'How are you?'

Oh, it's Whis, he thinks, stopping his eating for now. He likes Whis. Whis is nice and fun. Because he wants to see if his dad feels the same way about hearing Whis, he looks at him. It looks like his dad feels the same, he tells himself, otherwise he wouldn't have stopped his eating to look at his mother.

'I'm fine,' his mom answers with a smile. 'You?'

'Oh, you know. A day with Lord Beerus, is a day I'm Whis...'

Whis still sounds like he's singing his words, but he guesses, Whis is just like that. He can be silly like his dad sometimes.

'Don't I know what you mean?' his mom laughs.

He frowns at his mother's laugh, because he doesn't understand what that means. He understands the words, but what they mean together... He doesn't like that he can't understand what Whis and his mom are talking about, that is making her laugh.

It's at times like this, that he feels like a stupid baby. He goes to school, so he should be able to understand the adults talking to each other. Maybe, he can quietly ask his dad what his mom and Whis are talking about, so that they can all laugh together about it. He looks at his dad, but his dad doesn't look like he understands either. He looks too serious to look like he understands, so he just looks back at his mom.

'I'll bet,' Whis answers with his own quiet laugh. 'I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Chi-Chi, but I have a proposition for you.'

Proposition. What's that word?

He'll ask Trunks what that word means. No, he quickly changes his mind, he can't ask Trunks about it. Trunks will only laugh at him and call him a clueless baby, and then choose not to tell him _anyway_. He'll just have to remember to ask his big brother, because his mom wouldn't like to know that he has been listening to their conversation, instead of finishing his strawberry tart.

'What is it?' he hears his mom ask.

'Well,' Whis says, 'it was actually Bulma's idea. She communicated to me, that she'd like to apologise to me for that unpleasant day. If you ask me, I think she's just trying to bribe me into her good books, but oh well. Anyhow, she suggested a get together with all of us, and surprisingly, Lord Beerus agreed.'

Okay, wow, he's really interested to hear more, than to eat. He's a curious person, he wants to know what's going on, and even better if it involves his mom. And Whis, Whis is cool.

'Okay...' his mom agrees, sounding like she's telling him to go and tell him more.

'We settled on a friendly baseball game, with me as the referee, since it was sooooo much fun the last time, don't you think? And we've selected your home area, as the suitable place for this game. Actually,' Whis seems to giggle on the other end, 'that was Lord Beerus' suggestion.'

This surprises his mom, because she asks, 'Lord Beerus?'

'He'll never admit it,' Whis giggles again, 'but he liked your food from the other day, and he's only interested to eat more from your hand. Hence, his suggestion.'

'Whis!' a loud voice says from Whis' end. 'Keep my name from your lies!'

'Don't mind him,' Whis laughs as he tells his mom that.

Again, his mom joins Whis and laughs. And again, because he doesn't understand what they are laughing about, he looks at his dad for help. He didn't expect to find his father laughing along with his mom and Whis, but he didn't expect his father to look like this either. Watching his father closely, he's not sure how to say his dad is, because he's never really seen his father like this.

'So, what is this about a baseball game?' his mom asks Whis, which makes him turn away from his dad, back to her.

'It's supposed to be a match of reconciliation, according to Bulma,' Whis explains.

Whatever a match of reconciliation is, he's looking forward to it. With Whis there, it's sure to be fun, whatever it is. Maybe, he and Trunks will be allowed to play, and then they can compete with each other that way; to see who is better.

'Dad,' he turns back to his dad, 'are you excited for the game?'

He doesn't understand, it's like his dad is not excited at all. Isn't he listening to his mom and Whis? Didn't he hear what they said?

'Dad!' he calls again.

This second time, his father hears him, answering him with a confused, 'Huh?' but he doesn't look at him. His dad keeps his eyes on his mom.

'Are you excited for the baseball game?' Goten repeats for his dad.

His dad doesn't answer him, and because of the silence from his dad, he gets to hear what his mom says to Whis.

'Tomorrow afternoon is fine,' she says. 'I'll have plenty of time to prepare.'

'And I'll be sure to be there early for the construction of the whole thing,' Whis says back to her. 'It would be a good chance to spend time together, am I right?'

Even though he can hear his mom and Whis talking now that there's nothing come from his dad, he's still looking at his dad, to understand. He wants to know why his dad is looking at his mom with that face, that's not the usually happy one. And just now... How his dad opens his mouth like he's seeing something that he can't believe... Why is that?

'Dad!' he tries for his attention, which he doesn't get.

'Dad!' he insists for attention again, but his dad doesn't respond to him.

'Dad! Dad!' he continues to try.

Him calling for his father without receiving an answer, bothers his mother to leave the table immediately. He should be sorry for making his mom leave the table like that, but he's just trying to know what his dad is thinking. He's never really seen his father like this, and it's starting to make him a little sad.

'Dad!' he tries again, touching his dad's arm this time.

'What, Goten?!' his dad suddenly shouts at him.

But... What did he do?

The way his dad turned his head to him and then shouted at him, makes him want to start crying. His dad isn't like this. His dad doesn't shout at him, and get angry with him. His dad, is like Trunk's mom, and _she_ always makes sure that they don't get in trouble with his mom and Trunk's dad. His Dad is always happy and smiling with. They are always playing together. His dad even said this morning, that he could never discipline him, but... His dad just shouted at him.

It doesn't feel nice to be shouted at like that. Not by his dad. If it had been his mom, he would've known that he did something to be shouted at, but his dad... What did he do?

'I'm sorry,' he says, hanging his head and feeling ready to cry.

He did something to his dad, he thinks. Just like he bothered his mom to leave the table, he bothered his dad to shout at him too. He doesn't feel good anymore. He just wants to cry.

'Goten... I'm sorry,' his dad apologises, 'I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I'm sorry, Son.'

If his dad is saying sorry to him, then maybe his dad isn't angry with him, so he brings his face up to look at his dad. He still doesn't feel good, but he wants to see if his dad means his sorry with a smiling face.

'You're not annoyed with me?' he wants to know, because there's no smile on his dad's face.

His dad shakes his head, 'No, I'm not annoyed with you. I just don't feel like eating anymore. I don't feel good anymore.'

So that's it, Goten identifies, his dad doesn't feel well.

That's okay, he thinks. Sometimes, when he feels sick, he never wants to eat or play with Trunks. He just wants to lie down, until he doesn't feel bad anymore. But when his mom makes him take yucky medicine, she takes care of him and gives him nice kisses all over his face-

'I know!' the idea comes to him. 'Mom can make you feel better! She gives me medicine when I feel sick. The medicine is bad, but she kisses me after, and I always feel better.'

'Her kisses make you feel better?' his dad asks.

He doesn't give him an answer quickly, because he has to think about it. His mom says it's the medicine that makes him better, but he thinks that it's her many kisses that make him feel better. Getting kisses all over his face just feels nice to him, that he just starts to feel better.

'They are nice,' he decides to tell his dad. 'I like them. But...'

His dad looks worried when he asks, 'What?'

'You have to promise to not tell Trunks that I like Mom's kisses,' he says. 'He'll laugh at me.'

Trunks can be mean sometimes, especially when he's laughing. He doesn't Trunks to know that he likes to get kisses from his mom. He doesn't want to look like a baby to his friend.

Lucky for him, his dad smiles and nods at him. 'I promise not to tell Trunks.'

That's good. And it's also good that his dad is smiling again. He likes that.

'Okay, I'll tell Mom to come and make you feel better,' he promises, just before he leaves the table to his mom, a little way from the table.

When he reaches his mom, she's still smiling, and she's still talking to Whis.

'Not that hard,' she says, 'I'll show you tomorrow.'

He knows better than to interrupt her while she's busy, but she _has_ to stop talking to Whis. His dad needs help, and she's the only one who can help him. He just knows that with her kisses, his dad will feel better again.

'Mom,' he tugs on her free arm for her attention, and she looks down at him.

'Hmm?'

'Dad needs your kisses,' he explains to her. 'He's feeling sick, but you can him better with your kisses, Mom.'

He's sure of it. His mom is the best at everything. She's the best at cooking, and she's the best at making him feel better. She'll for sure be able to make his dad feel better again, and then his dad will be smiling and eating again.

His mom looks at him, and then she looks at the side where his dad is, like she doesn't believe him.

'Hurry, Mom,' he pleads.

She just needs to stop talking to Whis right now, and go to make his dad better. She can do that. He knows that can make him feel better, if she just stops talking to Whis.

* * *

Chapter 22, **Keeping Score.**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22, **Keeping Score.**

* * *

Just a little bit more than she loves being a wife, she loves being a mother. Even though she's supposed to love being a wife before she's a mother, she can't help it love being a mother more than being a wife. While true, there's not that much of a great difference between her love for being a mother and being a wife, if she had to tally up her love for either, being a wife would come up one count less than the other love.

Is it something to proudly brag about? No, definitely not.

Is it something that she wouldn't deny, though? Yes, absolutely so.

Granted, if it wasn't for the fact that she's a wife first, she wouldn't be a mother–because no, she has never been the type to have a somewhat sordid relationship outside of marriage, enough to bear children. However, the primarily a wife detail aside, the fact remains that she benefits more from being a mother, than from being a wife. Usually, at least, because on very rare occasions, being a mother becomes the hardest role for her to fill.

Like now, for instance.

Like now, when the brightly expectant eyes of her precious Goten, are looking up at her with all the hope that they can carry within them, making it impossible for her to ignore him. From experience, she's learned that sometimes ignoring Goten, is the best way to get him away from her, even though it would require a lot of patience to do the actual ignoring. In this current case, though, one tired look at him is all it takes to know that she cannot, for anything less dear to her, do such a cold thing as snatch the hope in his eyes away, by ignoring him.

Oh, the woes of being a devoted mother…

This war, regardless of whether it is a war by definition or not, she's clearly lost to Goten. There's no way around it, that no matter how long she chooses to hold onto a mentally fighting stance that will not yield any results in her favour, that cutely adorable expression of hope on Goten's face will only need a few more seconds to do her in properly. It's that with that innocent yet acutely genuine hopeful expression of his, he's pulling it out of the question, to deny him whatever he wants, even if she knows that in reality, she can't _really_ give him what he believes that she can give him.

'Goten…' she lightly sighs his name out.

'Please, Mom…' he pleads in response to her call, continuing to tug on her arm, 'Hurry!'

As she looks at him, thinking of something to say to him that will swat him away from her, all that she can really focus on, is the bright shine of his eyes. Where she should be focusing on finding a way to defeat Goten's silent victory over her, only the perfectly bright shine of hope is gets her attention, begging her to do what he's asking of her, because if she doesn't, it'll make him sad.

'I'm busy, Goten,' she tries to get him to leave her alone.

If she's learned something all these years, it's that even when the fight is lost, trying to overrule that loss, is something worth trying. Here, she's trying to do the same thing with Goten, in the hope that she might just have a shot at pushing him away from her for now.

'But Mom,' Goten cries, his expectant expression changing to a cross between bothered and urgent, 'Dad's not feeling good.'

Dear someone in the universe, this is _not_ the way that it's supposed to be.

And darn it, the woes of being a devoted mother indeed!

Just looking at her son, and feeling his tiny fingers pulling on her arm, she already feels the effects of his victory washing over her. Her melting, thus weakening heart, being overcome with feeling is the first effect, and her closing eyes, to help her better swallow her defeat, is the second. It's not fair, though, because against such a child as Goten, with such power and capability that he can use against her, it's almost always guaranteed that she'll be an ineffective parent when she doesn't need to be that.

Right now, her being an effective parent, would be to shoo him away and let her at least finish her conversation with Whis. Only, she's here rendered ineffective to carry out the discipline that she's supposed to, all for the reason that Goten's looking at her like he truly believes with all of his heart that she can heal Goku with her kisses. This is really one of those times when she wishes that being a mother, wasn't a role that she had to live out in the particular moment.

'Whis,' she laments, 'I'll talk to you later.'

After announcing that to her friend, she lowers her forearm without waiting for a response from him, and then looks over Goten's head, to the table where Goku is, to see him for herself. From where she stands, only his back is visible to her, although his slumped posture gives him away right away. Whatever it is that he feels, she observes, it has apparently ruined his previously jolly mood.

'Did your father say that he wants kisses?' she asks her son, but her eyes remain on her husband at the table.

She's asking, because it seems very unlikely that Goku would suggest such a thing as her kisses to Goten. Even if Goku did say something like that, she reasons, he knows as well as she does, that nothing about her kisses, would truly make him feel better if he really feels sick, so why say it to Goten in the first place? That doesn't make sense to her.

'No. I told him that your kisses always make me feel better when I don't feel good,' Goten innocently lets her know. 'He believes me.'

Like an ant would instantly redirect to the path with grains of sugar, her head spins on its own, so that her eyes have a perfectly unhindered visual of her son. His answer effortlessly attracts her attention to him, before she's able to recognise why she's all of a sudden looking at her son with stars of awe in her eyes. In a moment, she composes her senses enough to remember why his words, and now his expression, are such a trigger of mushy softness from her.

Once, when Gohan was around three-years-old, he was minding his own business playing around them, while she and Goku sat on the grass just doing nothing. Since Gohan had been playing around by himself, with no attention from either of them, she wasn't supposed to see him fall when he suddenly did. It had simply been one of those strange coincidences, where she looked his way just in time to see him falling face first to the ground. She'd gasped her heart out for him, in fear of him getting hurt, and her motherly instincts screamed out for her to hurry up and attend to him, but something in the air kept her from moving to him.

While kept in place by something that she couldn't explain, she watched Gohan gather himself up from the floor, and as though embarrassed of what happened, he looked around him to see who saw him. She thought for sure that once he saw her, he'd burst out into hysterical tears for hurting himself, and then for feeling embarrassed for being seen hurting himself, but he didn't. Rather, they made eye contact for a few seconds, (in which she held her breath, silently praying that he didn't burst out crying) and when the seconds were over, Gohan apparently decided that he wouldn't cry, when he could smile at her instead. For whatever reason, he chose to shyly smile at her, and her heart exploded with something that she will never forget.

That moment, although plain and nearly insignificant, had done something wondrous to her, that to this day, she still remembers how her heart swelled with preciously golden air, golden air that made her feel like she was in a different dimension of elation. She still remembers how moved with endearing measure she'd been, that with Goten's sincere answer, that same feeling comes back to her with vivid force. And that same swelling from within, together with that same capturing elation that had surrounded her soul enough to bring tears of emotional sensation to her eyes, takes her over without mercy.

Bless him, she pulls in a long needy breath, all of this came about because in his innocence, he told his father that his mother is miracle, super woman who has the ability to cure his sickness with her kisses… How can she not be moved by that? How does she keep herself together, when he's softly bursting her apart?

Resulting from the innocently induced effect, she partly sniffs to keep her emotions in check, and then only manages to says, 'Goten, those kisses are only for you.'

'I don't mind sharing them with Dad,' he answers while shaking his head and repeatedly tugging on her arm for emphasis. ' _I promise,_ Mom.'

But of course he doesn't mind something like that. If he had to stop playing with Trunks for a week to make his father happy, he'd do it with a smile on his face, and that's exactly what makes her want to break him into two and eat whatever gooey juice gushes out of him.

'Goten…'

Touched to the inner most parts, she moves her free arm to grip his hand on her arm, to take him by surprise. Once she's pried his hand off her, she maneuvers that same arm to hold him around the waist, while her other hand goes under his armpit, and that way, quickly scoops him up into her arms. She makes sure that he has no way of escaping from her hold, by secure holding him in her arms, and then begins to sow small kisses all over his face, in the way that he enjoys her to do, thus bringing giggles from him. From his cheek, to the other, to his forehead and then back to different spots on his cheeks, she plants soft kisses, that don't disappoint in making Goten giggle and squirm in her arms.

'Are you sure that you don't mind sharing my kisses?' she asks him once she's pulled away from him. 'You'll have less kisses that way.'

Although he's struggling to stop giggling, Goten manages to reply with, 'But it's Dad,' like that's the most obvious thing in the world. 'It's okay, I'll share with him.'

Her precious little Goten, her adoring eyes soften just at looking at him. Being confronted by the expressed mirth written all over his face, but especially carved in his eyes, she gives his left cheek one last lingering kiss, which is more to steady herself, than it is for his benefit.

'You're the best son in the whole world, Goten,' she tells him, to which he giggles in his usual way.

Maybe as a response, or perhaps as a mindless child tactic with no profound meaning behind it, Goten wiggles his hand free, to reach them out and touch the sides of her face. His touch is brief, gone nearly as quickly as it came, and in her right adult mind, she shouldn't read more into it than just a simple action, except… How can she not read more into it, when here is this boy of hers, an essentially watered down version of his father, being adorable at its peak of peaks, without trying?

'And I'll go, okay?' she assures him, choosing then to let him down from her arms. 'Your father will feel better in no time.'

Thank you, Mom,' he smiles at her. 'This is the best day ever, and I don't want Dad to miss it.'

It's a wonder how Goten can never seem to remember the many rules that she tells him, but her promises, he _can_ always believe and remember. She can't explain how her child has trouble following her instructions, but blindly trusts her word as if to confirm that whatever Mom says, is the absolute truth, except when it comes to doing chores and behaving.

It's an absolute wonder that her son can trust her this much, which is why instead of giving him a reply that she will sort his father out, she reaches down and holds out her hand for him to take. When Goten takes hold of her hand, she leads them to start walking back to the table with Goku, in order for her to start doing whatever damage control she has to do with her husband. Upon reaching the table, in careful concern, she places a hand on Goku's shoulder from behind him, releasing Goten's hand a second after that. It's the sign that he should take a seat at the bale, which he does without being verbally told.

'What is it?' she asks Goku while remaining behind him.

Shrugging her hand off him first, Goku gruffly gives her a dismissive, 'I don't want to talk to you.'

Not completely, however, this attitude from him alarms her, that she finds herself looking at Goten to find out just how much of this unpleasant situation between them, he is paying attention. She's mostly concerned for Goten, because the boy believes that she can do something to help his father, and she doesn't want him to start getting any doubts in his head that she can do it.

'Goten, stay here and finish eating, and…' she rounds her head during that pause, to make her face meet Goku's even if from a strange angle from behind him, 'you, come with me,' she finishes.

Immediately after that, she gathers herself up, to begin walking to the front door. The trick behind what she's doing, is to get up and set the pace before Goku gets the idea in his head that he can refuse her request, and thus begin a back and forth between them. Definitely, a back and forth between them on him insisting that he doesn't want to talk to her, and her insisting back that he should follow her so as to speak in private, is exactly the type of dispute that they should not be having in front of their son, even if he wasn't paying perfect attention to them. Fortunately, though, she doesn't have to worry about Goten being made privy to their, for the reason that like she knew Goku would, he follows after her, catching up with her in time to step out of the front door behind her.

'Close the door,' she instructs him once he's joined her a step outside of the house.

Really, the amount of times that Goku has to be reminded to do simple things as closing the door, she's lost count of. In the case of the normal average person, it would stand to reason that if they find the door closed, they will close it after going through it, or leaving it open if they found it open. To her Goku apparently, open and closed doors are all left open alike, with no regard to their previous state; that is unless, he wants his privacy, and he conveniently remembers to close the door.

'So tell me why,' she brings up, turning his way when she hears the door closing.

For an answer, he only looks at her with a strange expression on his face, and the one thing that she can conclude from the expression, is that he doesn't _not_ feel well, he's just in a that certain way for a reason that she doesn't yet know. Apparently, she observes while waiting on him to say something, he doesn't want her to know right away either, at least, not without prying as she should to get him to tell her.

'Why don't you want to talk to me?' she asks, deciding that playing along is easier.

'Because you broke our deal,' he hurriedly tells her with a distinct pout.

With the way his answer spewed out of him, it's like he's been specifically waiting for her to push that button, just so he could explode in response. It's not atypical of him to do this, to want to be pressed to talk, but when she feels like she's not on the same page as he is, she tends to look at him with a puzzled mind. Like she's doing now, her eyes slanting in a thin attempt to remember this said deal.

'What deal did we have?' she wonders.

In all of her files and logs of their conversations inside her brain, she can't remember making a deal with him, that is _just now_ suddenly relevant for him to act out against. The way that she knows him, she's only going through recent conversations, because he wouldn't ever be able to hold in something that bothers him about her, for longer than his middle finger.

'You said I couldn't talk to Whis today,' he tells her, his eyebrows drawing together in disapproval. 'You said it would be just us, but you spent all day talking to him.'

Dear someone in the universe…

Did she hear correctly? Did this husband of hers really just say _all day_? Because if he did, she's… She's stunned. She's so over her head, completely stunned that she has no response for him, except stare at him with widening eyes. Those less than ten minutes, are what he calls the whole day? What maths is that, that converts numbers so greatly that exaggeration doesn't even apply for that conversion?

'You can't even deny it, see?' he accuses with a finger pointed at her stunned silence.

His accusation, triggers her to snap out of her stunned silence, to give him the appropriate answer, because yes, she has to reject being accused with lies.

'What's there to deny?' she wants to know. 'You know as well as I do, that I didn't spend all day talking to him. You're exaggerating!'

'You still broke our deal,' he maintains both his pout and disapproving look. 'And you betrayed me.'

Now that he's said it how exactly she broke their deal, now that she's thinking about it, admitting that she did, would be the easier thing to do. It would certainly tip the unbalanced scales in her favour, and that way, she could easily sweet talk him into forgiving her, although, with how he's acting, admitting that, will be the same thing as admitting to betraying him, which she didn't do.

Whatever and however he feels and thinks about her at the moment, whether he is justified to feel or think it, allowing him to continue thinking that she betrayed him, is something that she will not do.

'I didn't betray you,' she says to clear it for him. 'Whis called _me_.'

Yes, they were own words that stopped him from getting in contact with Whis today. Also yes, she didn't realise that in taking Whis call, she broke her own words to him, but for goodness sake, he cannot say that she betrayed him. Betraying him would've meant that she went to the bathroom behind his back, to the take the answer, as opposed to the difference of her answering the call right in front of him. Betrayal has no place when she answered the call at the table with him, where he could hear everything that she said to Whis. Sure, she had to step away when Goten kept talking and making it hard for her to concentrate on the conversation, but that's the only reason there was for her leaving the table in the first place. Thus, she cannot accept that he would think of her action as betrayal, because it's _nothing_ like what he'd been planning to do with Bulma and Vegeta. But she's not keeping score so…

'Well, he shouldn't have,' strongly leaves his mouth.

Maybe Whis shouldn't have called, she says inside her head, tilting it to the side, however he did. That's the fact at play here, and unfortunately, there's nothing that can be done to change that, or even work around it.

'So what, I shouldn't have answered him?'

'No, you shouldn't have,' he answers, and then speaks again to quickly redirect the conversation, 'because let me explain something to you. Go all the way over there.'

Although not satisfied with how he's brushing aside his answer to her question, she does what he's asking anyway, walking backwards until she's far enough away from him as he indicated with his hand.

'You are Whis,' he explains in a normal tone, which is a good difference from the tone before, 'and I'm me. But come forward a little bit. Five steps.'

Well excuse her, her husband is evidently set on explaining this to her, and probably proving his point in the process, to be sounding like this. It's something to her, because very rarely, does he act like this, when he could rather whine a little, and dance around her with all the ways that he thinks will get her to forgive him or see his side.

'So every three steps that I take towards you,' he says to her, 'you should take one big one backwards.'

Simple enough, she thinks as she nods her comprehension to him, it's only that when he starts taking his steps to her without notify her that they would be starting, she loses focus. As she's taken by a tad bit of surprise, she begins to move back in small successive steps long before before he can take his third step.

'I'm sorry,' she fumbles on an apology, stopping then.

She really didn't mean to mess up his order of things, but just like Goku made the comment about how Whis shouldn't have called, not meaning something and saying something shouldn't have happened, doesn't mean reversing the fact that it happened. It seems to her, though, that either Goku doesn't care for her apology, or he doesn't care for how prematurely she started moving, because he acts as though he doesn't hear her, to instead gesture at the distance between them.

'See?' he cries as he gestures.

'You can't catch up to Whis, is that it?'

What exactly is she supposed to be seeing? Really, she wonders, because she isn't all that sure that she can follow with what he's trying to teach her. She may be mistaken, except the last time that they spoke about Whis, he took several turns before he got to his point, and even then, he didn't really express himself in the way that he was supposed to.

'No,' Goku answers through a line of frustration, 'he won't let me catch up to him.'

'And why should he?' is her immediate response to him. 'You don't let people surpass you, so why should Whis do it?'

Is he joking? His argument makes no sense at all. She means to thinks that at leat what he's presented to her so far, doesn't make the suitable sense to her. He'll have to do a lot better at explaining that starting with that angle.

A hurt yet bothered expression appears on his face, which is enough of a tell sign that he doesn't appreciate her response in the slightest.

'Why are you taking _his_ side?' he argues.

'Why are we suddenly arguing?' she presents an argument of her own.

And no, she's not taking Whis' side, she's just reminding him that it's perfectly reasonable for Whis to have no interest in Goku surpassing him. As a martial artist, Goku should know how it goes in the martial artist realm. Really…

'Because you betrayed me,' he replies, his feet carrying him across the distance between them.

Again with the betrayal, she thinks, huffing out a slightly frustrated breath. Betrayal doesn't fit here, not between them. Betrayal has never had a place between them. Neither does that 'I'm betrayed' stance of his have a place between them right now.

'I didn't betray you,' she irritably pushes out. 'Stop saying that I did, because I didn't. I would never betray you, Goku, you know that. I don't appreciate you saying that to me.'

It hurts actually, if she's being honest. In her loyal-towards-him heart, it stings that he would even consider saying something that disturbing to her. It's not true obviously that she betrayed him, and she knows and believes it, but just the fact that he is saying it, that makes her feel hurt.

'I feel like you did,' he retorts, 'and anyway, I'm only trying to explain to you that Whis should stay away from you, because he's not me. I want you to see that.'

Oh yes, it makes perfect sense to explain to her that Whis should stay away from her, by accusing her of betrayal…

'Honey,' she strains her soft appeasing voice out for him, 'all you are doing, is demonstrating that he is stronger than you. You explained this before. I know that his strength threatens you, but please don't make it sound like I did anything to betray you with Whis. I like him, yes, but like I explained it before, you're my husband, and if you tell me to stay away from him, I will. Tell me to never see him again, and I won't. Tell me to call him back, and cancel the thing tomorrow, because you haven't told me anything like that so far.'

Because she's at fault for forgetting that today was supposed to be about the three of them, all right, she'll relent a little bit. On that front, yes, she's guilty, and yes, she'll take the little responsibility that she can over it. But when only his tired eyes look at her, seemingly torn and speechless, she just…

'For goodness sake, Goku…' she whispers, not sure how to continue anymore.

Internally, she's weakly resigning, while he on the other hand, looks like he's long past the stage of feeling ready to explain to her what he means. It appears that he just wants to stop trying altogether, which, when she considers it, is not fair on either of them. As much as she need to take responsibility for her slip-up, he needs to come clean to her once and for all.

'Just…' she starts to change her mind. 'Just try to explain it to me again, because…'

Because his attempts so far, have all somewhat gone south, and now they are here, with him like this and her like this, and everything is just wrong now. He's accusing her of betrayal, while she dodges that accusation, and nothing is being resolved between them. No, she doesn't want it to be like this between them, and because it's that serious, she takes the remaining steps between them for proximity.

'Just try again,' she softly begs, her hands itching to be on him for better encouragement.

'Whis is better than me at _everything_ ,' Goku dejectedly tells her.

That's the problem, his body language tells her. Whis supposedly being better than him at everything, is evidently as draining to think about as it is to admit out loud for him, she observes and that's why she effectively shuts herself off from asking where in the world he got that lie from. What she does do, is send him a sympathetic look.

'Whis is reliable, Chi-Chi,' he carries on. 'If you asked him to do anything for you, he'd do it, and I don't know what to do with all of that…'

Because of their proximity, he easily reaches for her hands to have them in his own. As he takes her hands into his, she can't help it feel bad that he feels mashed up inside. If only it was a matter of trust, then she would work on affirming that their trust is unbreakable, only it's not. It's rather a matter of confidence wearing thin, and with that, she can't exactly help him, if he doesn't choose to want differently.

'If you asked all of my other friends to do something for you, they'd complain,' he picks up when she remains stuck at saying nothing back to him, 'or they'd try to find excuses not to help, because it's you, but Whis wouldn't. Unlike my other friends, he sees _you_ and I don't like that, Chi-Chi.'

Still unable to speak, she adjusts her eyes to carefully look at him, for she feels like she needs a moment to process how despite not being in favour of Whis and her being together in any shape, he still considers Whis _his friend_. She stares at him repeating to herself that only Goku is capable of something so genuinely distinct in separation, yet unbiased at the same time.

'I just can't deal with you having someone better and more reliable than me, because you've never had that before. I was always the one who had that place in your life, but not anymore. Look,' he breathes out tiredly, 'at least over my other friends, I have the advantage of being nicer and stronger, but over Whis, I have nothing, so my faults shine out. Do you understand that, Chi-Chi?'

Her throat feels like its closing, that's the most tangibly easy thing that she understands right now. That her hands are starting to sweat within his, she also understands, however to what Goku is referring, she can't answer with a positive answer. Of course, in essence, she understands what the underlying issue here with him is, but she can't bring herself to want to understand why he would feel that way about Whis, concerning her.

'Do you understand me, Chi-Chi?' he repeats insistently, pointedly staring at her with the air of someone who is just a second away from breaking himself into two, just so she can see what he means.

How the tables have turned, she realises.

Earlier with Goten's insistence, she felt like her role of mother was hard to fill -putting Goten's needs before her own- and being a wife, would've been easier to manage. Now with Goku, she feels like it would be easier to be a conflicted mother, than be a wife to her broken-up-inside husband. It's part of the reason why she doesn't give him the answer that he so needs to hear from her.

'Chi-Chi…' he drags her name out in verbal desperation.

Say something, that's what she knows he's telling, but her mouth just won't open to give what he wants. Her heart feels that she should just give it time, until a response naturally comes from her mouth.

'Okay,' he says like he's letting go of that, to try something else, 'remember when Gohan grew out of his clothes, and his trousers wouldn't reach his ankles? It's like that with me too. I'm the trousers, and Whis is the legs that I just can't cover up where he leaves me behind.'

For him to use _such_ an analogy is more than telling. This topic, and this whole thing with Whis, is obviously something that he has given proper thought to, even though he never brought it out to be known, for only he knows what reason. Coming to terms with the profundity of it all, automatically pushes her to have a say against his own destructive reasoning. Even if she can't help him overcome it without his willingness, she's not just going to stand here with him, sweaty hands in his, and allow him to feel justified in his destructive thinking.

'Whis isn't like that to me,' she heartily contends, 'you have to know that.'

'I know that,' he agrees, 'but all the little things about you and him just make me feel so… I know that you don't see him like that, but he's perfect Chi-Chi. Whis is perfect, and he just makes me remember that I'm not, when it comes to you. I know I'm supposed to give you all these things that I don't, but Whis just makes all of that shine out to me. You understand me, Chi-Chi, right?'

Yes, she finally nods. Yes, she does understand. In fact, she's always understood from the time that he tried a different way of explaining it to her, it was just that she didn't speak to answer him.

'Okay, good,' he whispers with closed eyes, 'and just so you know, I'll never be okay with him and you, because he's who he is, and who he is makes me feel how I feel.'

Finally at least, he's told her what his real issue with Whis is. She now knows in a better way that Whis accentuates his faults, and that makes him feel inadequate. She now knows with more clarity that before, he never had to compete with anyone for her attention and worry about being outshined. She now can appreciate that for someone who has never been put in a corner such as this one, it will be as hard as it can be, to fully deal and get over it completely.

'I understand that,' she softly smiles at him. 'I understand you, Honey, but at least say that you know I didn't betray you as well. Say you understand that I made a mistake in forgetting, but I didn't betray you.'

'But I feel like you did,' he whines. 'We had a deal, and you broke it, so I feel like you did.'

'It was a mistake,' she tries to reason with him.

'I know, but it still feels like betrayal. How could you not remember that it's just supposed to be us today?'

'Because it hasn't been just us for any part of the day today,' she confesses. 'There hasn't been an 'us' moment today. So far, it's only been me and Piccolo or Whis, and then you and Goten.'

To be fair, she meant for the whole day to be just about the three of them as a family, but she really did hope that she and her husband would get some alone time to just be together; whether outside or inside, whether occupied with each other or lacking in activity. Even now, she still hopes for good alone time with him, especially to make up for the subject of Whis, that is quickly fading out of their conversation.

'Was Piccolo here?' he curiously looks at her.

No, her mind answers, and thank the universal gods that she stopped him from staying her, because that curious look on Goku's face, is a dead giveaway that he would've liked to have met with Piccolo today.

'I went to see him early in the morning,' she tells him, while inside, she pats herself for being wise that way.

'Oh,' he answers, sounding just a little disappointed at the information. 'But is he okay?'

Assuringly, she answers with a soft, 'He's fine. The same, I suppose.'

And jealous, just like you are, is what her mind wants to say, only, her heart knows better and keeps her mouth shut from saying something like that, that will take them back to the very subject that they just steered away from. She for one knows that if he accuses one more time of betraying him, she's scream at the tops of her lungs in his ear, to make him hear the extent to which she resents him saying that about her.

'So…' he starts tentatively, 'I'm not in the mood to keep feeling bad about Whis anymore, not when I have to worry about him tomorrow, so what do you want to do? You want us to have time together, right?'

At his question, a slow smile starts to spread on her face, making her release one of her hands from his, to start suggestively drumming her fingertips on his forearm.

'If you can convince Goten that he's sleepy enough to take a nap for two hours, then yes, I want that,' she suggests to him, because Goten awake, is sure to interrupt whatever type of alone time that they choose to have.

Also, she'd like to see how well he does at getting Goten to fall asleep in the middle of the day. She's an expert at it, which means that she could step into the house and step out a few seconds later with Goten fast asleep in his room, it's only that she wants Goku to have a crack at getting Goten to sleep in the afternoon. It'll be a good testament of how much he wants alone time with her too.

'Okay, I will,' he simply says to her suggestion, moving to completely loose her from his hold.

'It's not as easy as you think,' she warns him with a challengingly raised eyebrow.

'I'll do it,' he assures her.

And then he takes off away from her, but thankfully doesn't disappear through the door that he just opened before she remembers something and calls for him to stop.

'Goku, wait!'

In a flash, he faces her with an expression that's curious to know what's suddenly wrong that she called him to stop.

'I just remembered,' she starts to explain. 'Goten's going to ask you if I gave you kisses, and I don't want you to lie to him.'

The thought just occurred to her when she realised that part of Goku getting Goten to take a nap, would be talking and convincing, and if she knows Goten, he's sure to ask if he feels better now. Like she thought before, Goten has an amazing ability of remembering and storing the deepest things, so he'll definitely ask about the magic kisses that his mother gives.

'He might not ask,' Goku bargains, his head tilted to the side in a doubting stance.

'He'll ask,' the promise leaves her mouth.

Her arms, she outstretches towards him, so that she can beckon for him to come back to her, by hitting her fingertips against the bottoms of her palms, leaving just enough space between one hand and the other, for his head to fit. Seeing her calling for him, he returns to her in a flash, obligingly placing his face in the space between her hands, where she can pull it to her.

One soft kiss after the other, she plants her lips on different spots on his left cheek, making sure to fully fit her kisses, into Goten's definition of her kisses. Like she told Goku, she doesn't want him to lie to their son, when she always advocates for the truth in their family amongst themselves.

'There,' she draws back after her last kiss, 'now you can tell him that I did give you kisses, and that you feel better.'

'I prefer bigger kisses,' he complains typically, a small frown painting on his face, 'but okay, I'll tell him.'

* * *

Chapter 23, **Let It Go.**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23, **Let It Go.**

* * *

It's quite a surprise for Whis to have Goku's face on the other side of the threshold, because he never would've imagined Goku to be the one who responded to his early knock. Not once in his thought of thoughts, did he consider the possibility of Goku being the one to do something like this, and yet, to his unbiased surprise, here Goku is. Here Goku is, in front of him, and looking… Well, looking as anyone would expect of him to look in the early morning hours.

'You?' Goku exclaims in question, although, it's not necessarily like Goku is talking to him directly.

'Me,' Whis quietly confirms.

The surprise, Whis thinks to himself with a smile only in his head, is mutual. Goku evidently feels as surprised to find him at the door, as Whis is surprised to have Goku answering the door for him. As he knows Goku not to be much appreciative of the morning, he can only assume that the reason for Goku opening the door, has something to do with Chi-Chi's immediate inability to come to the door. If that is the case, as he strongly suspects that it is, it can only mean that he opened the door without mental preparation of who could be at the door, hence his surprise.

Goku's surprise, after the moment of confirmation, changes into a soft look of suspicion, that would almost be unrecognisable to anyone who doesn't pay attention to the little hints that he gives off with his face. His suspicion physically expresses itself in the way that he strains his head to look around Whis, to possibly see what is behind him. It would otherwise be odd for Whis to receive this sort of treatment and silent scrutiny, if it wasn't a known fact that he rarely leaves their planet without Lord Beerus trailing behind him. Goku's not wrong to be curious about it now.

'What are you doing here?' Goku wonders suspiciously.

What's this?

Is it a hostile question, meant to make him feel comfortable? Or is it a curious inquiry, brought on by the hour of the day?

Either way, Whis draws in a breath to compose himself, he feels rejected and unwanted. Where he stands before Goku, as he is he, he comes to the realisation, that being on the rejected side, without doing anything to provoke a reaction that pushes him to that side, is peculiar to his character. In his reasoning, in the way that he conducts himself, and in his essence, he knows himself not to be a malicious being.

He knows it. He knows that about himself, and yet, something about Goku's tone and suspicion, pulls out of him a need to remind himself that, he knows better than this.

If only to convince himself that he is not in the wrong, or attempting to cause enough trouble to be rejected, he feels the need to remind himself, that he knows better than to show up _this early_ in the morning, by himself for that matter, to a house with a man who doesn't particularly like him around his wife. This reminder to himself will not reach Goku, but at least, internally, he will have established a good point as to why he doesn't deserve treatment like this. However, he does need to provide Goku with an answer, lest he pushes himself to the lane of silent rejection with his silence.

'There's a game here, on your grounds, today, remember?' he reminds Goku.

Perhaps with his answer, he can demonstrate to the other man, that he absolutely knows better than to deliberately do this, to be here so early in the morning. He hopes that Goku can pick up that if he didn't need to begin the construction of the arena for today's game, he wouldn't be here like this. How he hopes for that, because starting the day off with unpleasant interactions, is not ideal for either of them.

'I didn't forget,' Goku answers somewhat aggressively, showing a bit of a scowl. 'It's just too early for you to be here.'

'I'm aware,' Whis quietly nods in understanding.

It's true, no one knows better than him, the hour of the morning, and how it's slightly inappropriate to be showing up on someone's doorstep. It's only that he has a reason for choosing this particular time, when the sun is beginning to show, and that reason is the fact is that he'd like to get some work done, while Lord Beerus is still asleep back on their planet. If he'd waited for a while longer to come here, Lord Beerus wouldn't have allowed him the complete freedom to do it, because his endless morning demands would've gotten in the way.

In his question, he subtly wants to point out to his student that he's not, in any way, a malicious being, a being set on disturbing the peace and wellbeing of others, that he purposely wants to provoke him. Was Goku, Lord Beerus, and their relationship was deeper, perhaps the reasoning would be different, _slightly_. Still, though, Whis is not the type to provoke anyone for the sheer fun of it. Normally.

'Then… Shouldn't you come back later?' Goku seems to test in the most peculiar way.

Goku's not exactly chasing him off his property, more than he is suggesting it in a way that can't be labelled as crude. It's all fitting, Whis supposes, seeing as Goku is neither selfish in that way, nor crude in that matter. Blunt, Goku can be. Unrestrained with his tongue, he can also be without much effort, but it is not like him to make the next person uncomfortable, if he can help it.

'I'm staying, thank you,' he answers his student, as if Goku had been offering him a platter that he doesn't care for.

In all honesty, he is not looking to start an uprising within Goku, to the point of possessive irritation taking over, however, he cannot comply with Goku's suggestion to come back later. He is Whis, and he likes to do things the right way, especially when he is in charge of whatever thing may be in his care. He really doesn't want to upset Goku at such an hour, but what can he do? His work needs to be done while he still has the time.

'You can relax,' he tells Goku, who is starting to scowl, 'I am not here for Chi-Chi. I simply want to construct an appropriate stadium for the game.'

Sceptically, Goku narrows his eyes at him to ask, 'You're not coming in?'

How amusing this is! Who knew that Goku had it in him to be a completely different person from the jolly and carefree warrior that he usually is? It's no wonder Chi-Chi confessed that she likes to poke him in this particular spot. This contrast of a side of Goku's is something to behold, that he didn't even know he would've liked to see.

Nonetheless, as amusing as this is, he can't stay here forever, so he shakes his head to communicate in silence that he will not be coming in, not even for a short cup of tea. It's at that moment, as he shakes his head that Chi-Chi's voice sounds close to them, calling her husband's name. The sound of her voice, catches his attention the most, as it sounds like something between tired and urgent.

He doesn't wait long, not even getting enough time to wonder if he is simply creating that hybrid sound of Chi-Chi's voice, before she shows up at the door, looking more bothered than her voice sounds confused of how she actually feels.

'Please go and see Goten,' she tells Goku, gesturing a hand towards her left. 'He's not talking to me, so find out what's wrong with him.'

'If he's not talking to you,' Goku argues, 'then you know that he's not going to talk to me.'

He says it, Whis quietly observes, like something like this has happened before. He's also looking at Chi-Chi in a way that paints just how much he's telling her that she should listen to him, because he is right.

'Just go, Goku,' she tired breathes out. 'Go and at least try. He might talk to _you_.'

And now, Whis continues to observe, she's talking like she has a little faith in him getting through to Goten. It's as if she is saying that Goku has a better chance of getting through to Goten, than she does, for a reason that only she knows.

'Wait,' Goku looks at her with slight suspicion, 'Did you do something?'

Rolling her eyes, either at the absurdity of the suggestion, or from impatience, she brings her left hand to lightly push his shoulder in what Whis can only assume is a prompt.

'No,' leaves her mouth in a sigh. 'Now go.'

Well, Whis starts to think, doing his best not to pay specific attention to the exchange going on with him present, this is a dollop unpleasant to witness. Even having shown up at this time, very aware of the disturbed state that he could find the hosts in, he hadn't planned on being a witness to such an exchange between the couple.

He'd only planned to knock on their door, announce himself as getting to work on their property and then get along right to work, because it would've otherwise been disrespectful for him to begin work on their property without their knowledge. He may be levels higher than they are in the rankings of beings, but decency remains decency, and he has an abundance of it, together with fearlessness to use it.

None of this, what is going on now, none of Goku looking back at him like the culprit that he is not, and none of witnessing Chi-Chi looking this bothered in the morning, had been in his considerations. Except, he is here, and he _is_ seeing it, and he can only weather through it, no matter how uncomfortable it is to witness. It really seems like a distasteful invasion of privacy.

'Okay,' Goku unwillingly accepts, 'I'm going.'

He spares Whis one last look, and for the slightest nick of time, Whis feels an usual push to explain himself like he didn't get to do so far, to Goku. He likes Goku, more than he's ever liked anyone that he has ever met on the different worlds, and in a way, he feels that he has so much to teach him that no one else would, so he reasons that it's only natural for him to want that Goku doesn't feel some type of negative way about him.

'I'll be getting to my work too,' Whis tells him as a way of assuring him that he has nothing to worry about.

It doesn't seem to work, Whis deduces from the strange look that Goku gives him, but at least, he decides to listen to Chi-Chi. It's just as well that as soon Goku turns his back, that Chi-Chi calls his name for his attention, because he would've made another attempt at assuring Goku that he doesn't mean to cause any discomfort by being here. Honestly.

'Whis… Good morning,' she tiredly says, also wiping her hand, lazily across her forehead.

'Am I too early?' he wants to know.

It's that, he feels like he _shouldn't_ be seeing this. Chi-Chi, this… Well, this tired, _this_ early in the morning, and Goku prior to her, having been so… How does he accurately describe him? Goku, prior to her having been bothered, only in a special way. When he combines the two behaviours, he feels a trailing feeling in the air, that leads to what he can only name as family drama. That fact alone, has him questioning if it's even right for him to be present at such a time? At an ungodly hour, when no one in the family feels at their glorious beginning.

'For _me_ , no,' her head shakes, while she continues with, 'But… It's one of those mornings.'

One of which mornings? He silently questions this, his eyes contracting together for the briefest action of suspicion and wonder.

Well, of course, through her response, he has her answer, that no, he hasn't shown up at too early a time for her specifically, and yet… The slightly urgent way that she spoke to Goku just now, and even before that, when she came to meet them at the door, including her current body language, which more than averagely reflects her tone, makes him suspicious. Clearly, although her answers outlines that she is meticulously accustomed to being up at this hour, it also hints at her not being pleased with whatever thing happened this morning.

 _It's one of those mornings_ , he recalls her saying just now, but what if whatever chaos occurred this morning, is really a full manifestation of the glitch from yesterday, when he called her?

'Is everything all right from yesterday?' he can't help himself from asking. 'Are you fine this morning?'

He'd just hate it, if his call made an unnecessary problem arise between her and Goku this morning.

'I suppose, yes,' she says, moving her head from side to side. 'I'm fine. The only one fine in this house, actually. But, how are you? And stop standing outside there, Whis, come in.'

She beckons for him to accept her invitation to come inside the house, and out of nowhere, his mind brings to his immediate thoughts, the first time that he ever appeared on this very doorstep. How so very different it had been then, from now. Then, he remembers, he'd completely been unassuming, solely set on the mission of getting Goku, as per Lord Beerus' request. That had been until, of course, she kindly invited him in, and he couldn't think of any reason to refuse her kindness.

When he thinks about it now, whether or not Goku had been around that time, and Whis had sensed some type of family drama, as may be typical, or atypical to them, he wouldn't have felt uncomfortable in this way. He would've simply classified it as nothing in line with his interests. Unlike with the precise difference now, when he feels that he shouldn't be his friend's witnessing family issues, and probably making her feel embarrassed, to a degree, about him being a witness to it.

'Thank you, Chi-Chi, but I would rather not,' he cordially declines, taking a step back. 'I am afraid that I have quite the job set out for me today.'

'Setting up the stadium?'

'Yes,' he nods, 'that.'

The immediate look that she gives him for his answer, expresses her surprise more than her previous question did, but it's a little less telling than the statement that comes from her mouth.

'You make it sound like a big job,' she remarks, 'when you easily reconstructed the spectator seats, at the Universe 6 match with your sister.'

Heartily letting out a laugh first, he responds with, 'Well, yes, I _am able_ to construct a stadium in a minute with my eyes closed, but, the truth is, I would rather have something to _feel_ proud about.'

Very rarely, does he do things that make him feel proud. It's that way, because the things that make him proud of himself, are not the things that he does for other people, or out of a sense of courtesy and decency. For someone like him, someone who is able to bend the moon into any shape that he thinks to make it, being proud of such effortless power, is absolute vanity in his eyes.

It is his firm belief, that feeling pride for one's natural abilities, is pointless in the path of value, when matched against something that comes from within, but rather carefully crafted with time and effort. The use of one's personal time and invested effort to yield a result, is cause for good pride, and that is precisely what he is looking to achieve this morning.

'Also,' he mischievously adds, 'I'd like to take as much time as possible, to give Lord Beerus enough time to awaken, and find me not there.'

Perhaps from her own experience, Chi-Chi immediately recognises his statement for what it is, because she lifts one eyebrow, and then only asks, 'Are you _sure_ that's a good idea? Wouldn't he come to the game upset?'

Experience has taught her well, he silently appreciates as he looks at her. Upset, yes, Lord Beerus will be that, but that is the entire point of the mischief here.

'He will be upset,' he replies, mischievously smiling at the picture, 'however, I know how to deal with Lord Beerus. Leave that all up to me, dear.'

'I guess that I can relate to that,' she says, only slightly inclining her head towards the inside of her home, to indicate her own family as her said relation.

In response, he only smiles at her, to once again show his appreciation that she understands this about him. Her life, although completely different from his, is structured in a way similar to his duties as an angel, and he appreciates her all the more, because he had never before taken the time to get to know someone else, in the way that he knows Chi-Chi now.

'Well,' he starts, 'I better get started on my work, and leave you to yours.'

At the moment, he has the feeling that she has more draining work inside her home, then he will have all day. Taking into consideration that he has to construct a stadium from his mind, create uniforms for the two competing teams, go back home to get Lord Beerus, and then return to host this whole event, it would be ridiculous to say that Chi-Chi has more draining work than he will do all day, but that is how it is.

'Listen…' she steps forwards to lightly touch his arm. 'Do what you have to do. Just let me know if you need anything, because I'll be right in here.'

'Will do, thank you,' he eagerly nods to her proposal.

He would've liked to bow his head to her, to, at the very least, present with nobility just how touched he is at her kindness, that even when she is going through her own fight inside her home, she extends an offer to help him. He would've done that, in fact, except she takes the chance from him, when she hastily steps back into the house, and closes the door in his face. Although he is slightly caught off guard by the door shutting in his face just like that, he can't even think to take offence to the hasty act, for he knows, that she entertained him for far too long in any case.

Anyhow, he lets out a controlled breath, with Chi-Chi off to her own duties, he can't dally around at her door for anything. As he told her, he really _does_ have quite the job set out for him, and the sooner that he can get to it, the more time that he will have to perfect it to his liking. With that thought, he arranges him enough, just to be ready to take off, before he gracefully lifts up into the air and leads into the opposite direction of the house.

Keeping his eyes perfectly attentive on the grounds below him, he sways through the air around the Son property. It is quite big to behold, he thinks to himself. Although he notices that it has no physical boundary that separates their property from the large forest next to it, his attentive eyes are easily able to discern where it ends, and where the forest begins. At last, after searching for a good amount of time, his eyes land on a particular spot, that his heart sings to.

'Aah! That's the spot!' he vocally expresses in a singsong voice, clasping his hands together to symbolise completion.

He absolutely, completely loves that particular spot. He loves that it's not that much of a distance away from the house, but most of all, he likes that it's clean of any trees. He wouldn't have liked to find the perfect spot, save for having one or two trees that he would've had to clear away, so really, this spot is the absolute best for him to begin his construction. Now, all that's left, is for him to begin his physical designing of the stadium.

Of course, he stops himself just one last time, he has to consider constructing it in a way fitting enough for Lord Beerus to feel at ease, and respected at, and also make it at a level that the Earthlings will feel at home and familiar, but those are minor details to him. The more important details of doing an outstanding job of replicating the stadium where he took inspiration from, right down to the white markings on the not-yet-existent grass, is what matters the most to him.

Well, he decides, extending his hand out to reach for his staff, it's time that he starts with this construction.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

It's incomplete, the stadium, Whis thinks as he takes levitating steps back to admire his work so far, but even with just how it is, there's not a single person who would look at his work and accuse him of not putting serious effort into this construction.

Unlike like he did on the Empty Planet with his sister the last time, this construction is a piece of art. Well, if he's being honest, it's all not all that fair to draw comparisons between the two times, because with his sister back then, he'd simply gone for the easiest, least time consuming addition. Also, if he'd conferred with his sister on the ideal look for the arena, they would've never come to an agreement.

And speaking of his sister…

She better not come here before he has finished with his construction, he thinks with a disapproving frown. Unfortunately, Lord Beerus did the unfortunate thing of bragging to his brother that he would be heading to Earth today, to have a big feast after a baseball game, _without him_ , that Whis is completely sure of his sister and Lord Champa suddenly appearing when they please. He'd hate for them to get here any time before the game has started, because it will only create an unnameable ache in his system. The combination of Vados and Lord Champa, is something that he cannot tolerate on occasion, and so he hopes that he will not be seeing them at least until the feast. Food ought to keep them engaged enough, to keep from seeping into his system.

As he is thinking, in the corner of his eye, he sees a figure on foot, coming his way. Not jittery in nature, he doesn't immediately panic at the prospect of the approaching figure being his sister, until it hits him that it _could_ be his sister coming his way. As soon as that registers in his mind, he makes a quick turn on the spot, to face the oncoming party. Turned, he has the advantage of studying the coming one, to determine just who it is.

The patient walking style, he studies, even at that distance.

The very fact that the person is _walking_ on their two feet, he takes careful note of.

The height, he takes into consideration.

And the tray filled with a teapot, two tea cups, and a small basket beside those two things, he registers accurately.

'Chi-Chi,' he realises, through the specific help of the tray in her hands.

That's a relief, he closes his eyes to thank this Earth for his fortune. For a moment there, he thought that perhaps, his sister managed to show up before time, after all.

Driven by relief, he descends lower, to meet her on the ground. While moving to her, he sees something that he hadn't seen before, and that is a little boy following closely behind her. It's curious that he didn't notice Goten when he was studying Chi-Chi's walking style. Nonetheless, he continues to meet her.

'Tea?' she offers when they meet.

Tea?

His face involuntarily changes, to depict his confusion. What he doesn't understand, is that she came all of this way (which is not more than a seven minute walk from their house), just to offer him some tea. For how early it is, she should have an abundance of things to do in the house, and he, well, he is still busy with his construction, so why would she take time out of her schedule to bring him tea?

All right, he reasons, seeing as Goten is here with him, albeit carefully hidden behind her, for whatever reason, she might be done with her share of responsibility in the house, and perhaps, she's already resolved the 'one of those mornings' issue. However, he is far from finished with his work, and he can in no way take time out to indulge in a cup of tea with her. Not until his work is complete, anyway.

'I'm busy,' he politely answers, hoping that she will interpret it correctly.

'I know,' she sighs and nods at the same time, 'but I need to vent a little bit.'

Vent?

Wondering, he looks at her. Without a doubt, the words, he understands, and he even has a notion of what _exactly_ she means by saying that to him, however, knowing that he is still busy, did she not consider that it wouldn't be possible to get that type of attention from him?

'Tell me, Chi-Chi,' he thoughtfully lets out, 'does my work mean nothing in this case?'

It's a genuine query that he has, because the specific ways of friends, he doesn't know, but he strongly wants to understand.

'It matters, Whis,' she gently tells him, her tone showing him that she is not being malicious about this at all, 'but you have to understand that now that I have you, and you _are_ here, I want your ear. I know that you're busy, but…'

Oddly, although not familiar with all the ways of friends, he can relate to what she said, which is why he nods to accept to do this one thing for her.

'All right,' he offers her a small smile, 'I'll have some time, but at least know that you are delaying my perfect work.'

'I'll remember that, if anything turns out imperfect,' she replies, returning his smile.

'Good. And now for this tea…' he remarks, and then starts to look around them for a good place.

He wants a suitable place, where they can enjoy their tea, and he can be her venting ear while they do so. Thankfully, he doesn't have to look further than some steps away from them, where the view is good and it's just sufficiently spacious for him to erect a shade umbrella, in the centred-hole of a plastic table, which, he provides from air, as he did the umbrella, and now three chairs.

'Over there,' he points to his creation, and they start walking over to it.

As they walk side by side to the table, he can't help it notice the strangeness in Goten's behaviour. It doesn't take the most brilliant of minds, to know deduce that Goten, as much as he looks like his father, he is equally the same in personality. Taking that into account, also adding how his previous encounters with Goten had been like, he finds it mightily strange that Goten didn't talk to him at all. Whis would've expected for the boy's mother to keep Goten from asking him questions, only, that is not happening, because Goten is carefully hiding behind his mother, all the while keeping up with their walking.

'Is something the matter with him?' Whis asks in what is supposed to be a whisper.

'Who, Goten?'

'Yes. He's not himself, is he?'

Her 'one of those mornings,' statement, certainly makes a lot more sense to him now than it did before, if something is keeping Goten (and his father) from being their usual jolly selves. And now, holding this in his regard, he can truly understand her need to 'vent.'

'He lost a tooth,' she lets him know, but her eyes remain on the table that is just now a step away from them.

For two reasons, the first being that they reach the table, and the second being that he can't connect how losing a tooth, completely alters someone's personality this much, he keeps silent. In that same silence, he allows her time to set her tray down on the table, before he goes around to his seat. The two of them take their seats just seconds apart, but Goten chooses to sit on the floor, beside Chi-Chi's chair.

'Goten,' he calls down to the boy, 'you can have a seat at the table too.'

Waving her hand at him, she says, 'Don't bother. He won't listen to you.'

'All because of a tooth?'

It may just be that he sounded more stunned than he should be, but Chi-Chi lightly laughs, as if to say that nothing has ever been distant from the truth.

'It's his first lost tooth,' she starts to explain, 'and because he's always doing naughty things, he thinks that I'll ground him if he opens his mouth to talk. It's partly my fault, because I failed to notice that he even had a loose tooth. But…' she sighs, shaking her head too. 'He's refusing to talk to me and his father, but he insists on following me around anyway.'

'How curious,' he comments, feeling intrigued by this whole thing, 'that you know how he feels, if he hasn't spoken to you.'

He has extraordinary powers, but even he can't dive into a person's thoughts to know exactly what they are thinking, and for what reason. Well, yes, he can make accurate assumptions, upon observing a person's behaviour and subtracting all the possibilities that are less likely to come from that person, however, he suspects that Chi-Chi's method, is one that is the result of intimate knowledge. He particularly finds it curious, because he has intimate knowledge of Lord Beerus, and yet, he doesn't believe that it is on the same level as this.

'First of all,' she begins, 'Goten opened his mouth for Goku to see the missing tooth, something that he didn't do with me. And secondly…'

Only to lean forwards, and start pouring tea into their teacups, she pauses her speaking. After she has done that, though, after she has handed a cup to him, and gestured for him to help himself to some biscuits, she picks up where she trailed off.

'If you ever have children one day, Whis, you'll learn that no matter how well your eight-year-old can ask incredible questions, and perfectly put on their own shoes, they are still a child at heart. Goten is a child, and his thoughts are like any child's, when they think they have messed up.'

'I see,' he thoughtfully replies. 'But is there anything I can do to help?'

If it lightens her load, and it's within his abilities, he is willing to do it for her. From growing Goten's tooth back, to making him something that will cheer him up enough to once again talk to her, he's willing to do it.

'No,' she declines his offer, and then lifts her cup for him to see. ' _This_ is it. You're doing it already, Don't worry about my family, Goku and Goten, I know how to handle them.'

That, he can accept, he thinks with a small nod. If she only needs him to be here for her, with his ear at the ready, then he is happy to be doing just that for her. Plus, being here with her also has a reward for him, a reward that is rather pleasingly warm as it flows down his throat.

'It's strange though,' she starts again, smiling as if she is remembering something in a distant corner of her mind. 'I used to get by just fine, with no one to listen to me. Now that I have you, though, I automatically assume that I can come to you. Is it a bad thing? Is it maybe selfish of me?'

She's asking him? How? When he's an amateur at this. But to answer her question about it being a bad thing-

'I wouldn't think so,' he smiles at her, setting his teacup down. 'I do believe that if talking about your human troubles makes you feel better, it can't be a bad thing.'

'I don't know, Whis,' she softly laughs, 'when you put it like that, I could easily argue that stealing people's cars makes me feel better, but that wouldn't take away from the fact that it's a bad thing to steal.'

Hmm... She has an excellent point there, but how can he take her seriously when she's still smiling, looking like she feels better than before any time this morning.

'Very well, let me say it this way,' he tells her, 'assuming that you can talk to me whenever you feel the need, is not a bad and selfish thing to me. And besides, compared to all the selfish relationships that I have tolerated and still tolerate, yours is made to look inhumanly selfless.'

Chi-Chi chooses then, to reach for a biscuit from the basket, and while his eyes follow her hand, he mentally remains attentive to what she's really trying to do. He doesn't have to wait long for her at attempt at dismissal, to make it out of her mouth either.

'There's a benefit in it for me, so it's not completely selfless,' she tries before taking a bite from her biscuit.

'True,' he nods, temporarily letting her think that she can get away with discrediting herself, only to hit her with the truth. 'However, we _are_ friends, are we not? I too benefit from you. Remember that,' he firmly adds that last part, solely to even them out in each other's company.

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 **26Chapters**

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This has to be the busiest day that he has ever had, since his service to Lord Beerus began.

It took some doing ( _quite_ some doing, in actual fact), but at last, he finished with everything about the construction of the stadium, right down to the team uniforms. After struggling to pull himself away from his teatime with Chi-Chi, he got right back into finishing his construction, and soon after started on the uniforms.

For the uniforms, he chose the colours yellow and orange. He deliberately chose those colours, because he assumed that everyone would expect him to use uniforms between the colours of maroon and blue. He also chose to create long-sleeved shirts, just because he thought it would be different, while the trousers, he chose the colour grey.

Once or twice during his uniform making, he dropped in on Chi-Chi, to see how far along with the food she was, and each time, he left prematurely, in order to keep his sanity. The smell alone, without the added visual of the food, wormed into his mind, and made him want to abandon his responsibility, for the sake of indulging in food. After the second time, he simply made it a point, to busy himself with creating a sizeable dinette near the stadium, that would ensure that he didn't get tempted to go back to a cooking Chi-Chi.

He succeeded.

In everything, he succeeded in the most brilliant of ways, and although he counts it as the busiest day of his life, it's also the proudest that he has been of himself since when. Really, he can't remember a time before this, when he exerted so much of his time and precision into crafting something.

He also succeeded in passing down the right instructions, instructions that were to be followed once he went back to their planet to get Lord Beerus.

After briefly stepping into the Son home, to inform Chi-Chi of what had to be done while he was gone, he went to see Bulma, rather tasked _her_ with gathering everyone. He believed that Bulma would have an easier time of doing it, compared to Chi-Chi, thus, her getting that responsibility. He trusted that Bulma would do the job just right, for the reason that Bulma had originally wanted the game to happen on her grounds, no doubt for a bigger advantage into Lord Beerus' book.

That had all been some time ago, though, roughly two hours ago, and now they are here.

Or rather, he and Lord Beerus are finally here, meeting the crowd of players on the ground. Lord Beerus, of course, as to be expected, keeps his distance in a way that he would not be present, if people couldn't physically see him. He, on the other hand, makes to be the closest to the group of players, so that he can talk to them.

'Yoo-hoo,' he happily calls for their attention.

With the perfect stadium being the very ground that they are all standing on, and then the bright uniforms that he made for everyone (he'll be sure to tell them to keep the uniforms as keepsakes of sorts), he's extremely excited to do this. Once everyone settles down to face him, all perfectly tuned to him in their perfect uniforms, he feels more excitement rush to his mouth, that he can't do anything to stop it from opening.

'Hallo everyone,' he waves at them with both hands, wonderful glee shining on his face. 'Thank you all for coming, and welcome to this game of reconciliation.'

'Hallo, Whis,' they all jovially greet back.

Well, all but Vegeta and the one called Tien. He wouldn't have expected more than a grunt from Vegeta anyway, so he dismisses it completely. The Tien one, he doesn't know well enough to expect anything from, so that too, he dismisses completely.

'Now, judging by your uniforms,' he carries on addressing them, 'I take it you have all picked your teams and captains, so it's up to me to explain to you the rules of the game.'

As he promised, while everyone attentively listens to him, he explains that the game will have no winners or losers. It's a rather silly and not motivating rule to have in a game, he's aware of that, although, he would rather that this game of his, doesn't turn into the same thing that happened at the previous baseball game. At the announcement, some people grumble in protest.

'Now, now,' he tries to sedate them to calm them down. 'I do understand that for some of you martial artists, competing is everything to push you forward, which is why-'

He will, for goodwill's sake, allow for each team to score at every opportunity that they get. That way, they will have a reason to celebrate the happening of the game. Some low grumbling still follows that small option, but he doesn't pay attention to it. He rather moves onto to than Goku and Chi-chi for allowing their land to be used, and Chi-Chi for volunteering make all the food at her own expense.

'I brought some snacks too, Whis,' Bulma sweetly reminds him, frantically waving her hand for him to see.

Oh dear, he thinks, his eyes rolling on their own instructions, Bulma be can quite something.

'Yes, thank you, Bulma,' he quickly directs at her, just as quickly redirecting from that topic. 'Now, as I was saying… Let's all have a good game, and of course, enjoy it!'

* * *

 **26Chapters**

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'When will it be time to eat?' the grumpy voice of Lord Beerus reaches him.

Because it's Lord Beerus, because he knows his god, and because his god is still peeved from being left alone on the planet, sleeping, no less, Whis doesn't waste a second in abandoning his post of watchful referee over the game, to give the god attention.

'When there's a break, Lord Beerus,' he answers.

Whis nearly believes that he has tended to the immediate need of the god, because Lord Beerus casts his eyes to the ongoing game, with what appears to be keen interest, only to lose that near-belief, when he is asked another question again.

'When will there be a break?' Lord Beerus asks him in that same grumpy and bored voice from before.

Carefully, as he is silently evaluating Lord Beerus, whose keen watch is still set on the game, Whis replies with, 'When the time is up.'

This time, Whis doesn't dare to think anything close to belief, that he has quelled his Lord's inquisitorial, because he knows better. He only wishes that Lord Beerus would get on with it, leaving him to referee his game in peace.

'When will the time be up?'

Oh, now Lord Beerus is just being testing. No, Whis doesn't appreciate it. He can be as bothered as he would like to be. He can pretend all he wants that he isn't enjoying the game. He can even maintain his need for an eating break. But he cannot keep trying Whis' patience like this. The first answer, should've been enough to keep Lord Beerus satisfied, except it didn't, and now he is still stuck in the cycle of answering questions.

'When it's up,' Whis sharply replies, just as sharply returning to his job of referee.

That sharp reply, Lord Beerus should know, is his way of saying that he will no longer entertain his questions. It seems to be effectively understood by the god, for silence between them, is the only sound that speaks for a while. That is, until-

'Is time up?' Lord Beerus gruffly poses.

Firstly showing his minimal irritation with a clicking sound, Whis says, 'I'll announce it with my whistle, when it's up.'

'Well, do it already!'

With that command, pronounced as impatiently as it was, Whis feels too poked to keep his attention off Lord Beerus, that he turns away from the game. His eyes find a straight face, one that looks far from belonging to the person asking impatient questions. It's rather amazing how well Lord Beerus has become at controlling himself since back then.

'Don't look at me,' the god, upon noticing that he is being stared at, calmly commands.

'I will,' Whis firmly returns, 'if you insist on being impatient.'

'I want to eat! I have the right to be impatient.'

He says that with such a distinct note of impatient entitlement, but he forgets that ever since he got here, he hasn't spoken to anyone, least of all the people whose grounds they are on. Whis understands that Lord Beerus is merely keeping everything bottled inside, in order to get through this day, yet, he doesn't find that good enough of an excuse, to behave this way.

'You haven't even spoken to the person responsible for the food, and yet you want to eat?' he asks Lord Beerus as a way of reminding him of the fact. 'It's a tad tacky, don't you agree?'

A deep growl, leaves Lord Beerus' mouth, and while Whis thought that the god would sharply turn to face him and then blow out some type of exclamation of denial, he does nothing like that. Again, Whis finds himself thinking of how good Lord Beerus has tamed himself to be. Today specifically.

'Should I take that response as a yes?' he provokes the god, who still not looking at him.

'If you'll insist on bothering me with that,' he lowly starts, 'then I'll talk to her after I eat. But only if her flavours are worth my words, otherwise not. Now, keep your eye on the game, and be ready to make your announcement with your whistle.'

He'd be glad to get back to watching the game, but he still wants to stare at Lord Beerus. The thing is, he can't be fooled, he knows that although Lord Beerus didn't complain about being left alone on their planet, he's still extremely upset about it. He also knows that along with feeling _that_ upset, Lord Beerus also feels irritated and impatient, because nothing else could explain his rigid stance, and his hands clasped together behind his back. What Whis isn't sure of, is why he's controlling himself this way, today specifically.

He has two plausible theories on why Lord Beerus is keeping himself together, when he really feels like blowing up inside from all the things that he didn't address. The first theory, leans more towards Lord Beerus accumulating just enough anger, to have an excuse to really explode when the tiniest thing sets him off. And the second theory, Whis thinks that Lord Beerus is planning to use the fact that he didn't show his true feelings, as a bargaining tool. Either way, Whis is astonished that he is this determined.

'Whis,' Lord Beerus cries, apparently getting fed up with being stared at, 'I said don't look at me.'

'And I said, I will,' he immediately replies, 'if I find a reason to. In this case, I will, because-'

The rest of what he wanted to say, gets cut off by a very loud voice shouting, 'Run Mom!' and another deep voice that goes, 'Go Chi-Chi!'

As the cheers cut through their conversation, Whis instantly turns his eyes back to the game. Lord Beerus hadn't needed to turn that way, because he'd already been looking at the game. His eyes once again on the game, he sees everyone from the orange team beginning to cheer for Chi-Chi, who is running to the second plate. The first cheering voices had been that of Gohan and her father, but now even Goku, Videl and Yamcha are cheering for her, with the exception of piccolo, who seems like he is silently cheering for her.

To quickly catch up with the game, he looks for the ball that she hit. As he does so, he quickly evaluates the situation. The yellow team, made up of Vegeta, Bulma, Tien, Eighteen, Krillin and Master Roshi, apparently managed to catch the ball that Chi-Chi hit, and are busy throwing it to each other, to stop her from getting further ahead.

He doesn't know, perhaps it has everything to do with the fact they are friends, but something about seeing how eager the other team is to take her down, two plates before she hits home, makes him want to see her win. She's not the first person to bat in the game, and he didn't want this for anyone else before now, but for Chi-Chi, he wants a good win. When he remembers that she has her own share of minor family issues, he automatically extends his staff towards Vegeta, who is standing at the place where Chi-Chi is headed to next. In the time that Vegeta is waiting to catch the ball flying his way, Whis also waits for the perfect time to arrive.

A few seconds later, when the ball is just a finger away from Vegeta's palm, and everyone can see that he will catch the ball before Chi-Chi makes it to his plate, Whis flicks his staff upwards, causing the ball to redirect all the way to the opposite side of the stadium. As suddenly as the re-route happens, everyone in the game suddenly stops in shock. Even Chi-Chi stops her running.

'Run, Chi-Chi,' he excitedly shouts to her, beginning to glide into the game grounds himself.

His excited encouragement, pulls everyone from their shock, to look at him. It doesn't take a second more than them looking his way, to put this sudden change together. Meanwhile, as the rest of the gamers look at Whis with suspicion, Chi-Chi takes his advice and runs, making it to the home plate long before the ball is redirected back to her. It all happens so fast, that no one but him notices that Chi-chi just completed her first home run.

He does, though, and he does something about it. Or at least, he starts to do something about it, he starts to move towards Chi-Chi at the home plate, to congratulate her in person, when Vegeta impatiently cuts through the middle of his way.

'That's cheating! I saw that!' Vegeta barks, his finger pointing accusingly at him.

Amused, Whis raises a brow, 'What exactly did you see, Vegeta?'

'I saw what you did with the ball!' Vegeta furiously tells him.

Feeling more amused, Whis chuckles. Of course, Vegeta saw what he did with the ball, and so did everyone else. There's not a single person in the game who didn't see what happened, because he waited for their perfect attention to do it. However, and this is a big setback for Vegeta, there is a barrier that will dissolve his claims, and that is;

'Can you prove it?' Whis asks, not even feeling the slightest need to make it sound like a challenge, because he doesn't feel threatened by Vegeta's statement.

Vegeta opens his mouth as if to exclaim, 'Why, you!' but he closes it again, apparently realising that if he can't prove what Whis did, it doesn't count as cheating.

'I thought so,' Whis politely chuckles at Vegeta's frustrated silence, and then moves around Vegeta to Chi-Chi.

She's not yet surrounded by her teammates, they must still be feeling around the same things as Vegeta, only in different tones. Because of that, Whis thinks that he will get a quiet moment with her, to at least explain to her why he did what he did for her, but just then, Goten comes flying at her from nowhere, to start talking to her animatedly.

'Mom! That was so cool, when you hit the ball, and it went all the way to the other side! And then you started running. And then the ball changed directions when Krillin threw it to Trunk's dad. The coolest was when it slipped out of Trunks' dad's hand, and you made it to the last plate. It was so cool, Mom! It was really cool!'

'Oh, Goten,' she affectionately lets out, reaching down to ruffle his hair after he stops talking.

Appreciating the scene, Whis can read her well. She may have told him that she can handle her family on her own, but he can tell that this is an emotional moment for her. Just being relieved of the burden of going through one of those days with her family, is like heart-warming freedom to her. During their teatime, he learned a few things here and there, and someone persecute him, but seeing her running for a win during the game, he wanted to help in some way.

He did help, it seems, because here is Goten suddenly talking to her with childish excitement, evidently no longer able to remember that he might get in trouble if he spoke with a missing tooth.

'Congratulations, Chi-Chi,' he beams at her from where he is.

Not just for making the home run, but also for having a restore relationship with her son again. There's still Goku to go, who is honestly doing a variation of what Lord Beerus is doing at today's game, but on Goku, she can work alone.

Hearing him, Chi-Chi smiles at him, ruffles Goten's hair one last time, as a way of excusing herself, and then walks the only three steps to him. Once she reaches him, she doesn't thank him like he thought she would do, or even mention that she knows what he did for her, all she does, is form a fist with her right hand and stretches her arm to him.

Curious, he looks at it with drawn eyebrows.

Is it some form of violence? Or is it some form of a message?

'What…?' he wonders

'Do the same with your hand,' she softly instructs.

Only because she used her right hand to form her fist, he does the same, following it with the exact same thing of outstretching his arm towards hers. He leaves a little space between her fist and his, waiting for her to instruct him further. That's when, with the index finger of her left hand, she taps the middle of her fist, silently telling him what to do next. Slowly, partly nervous, to be honest, he pushes his fist out to make contact with hers.

And then the two fists make silent contact.

He's not going to lie, he expected a vibration, or some type of sensation to follow the fist to fist contact, but it doesn't come. Oddly, though, it doesn't disappoint him. The part of no sensation, only makes him lift his fist closer to his face, for inspection and digesting the small moment that they just had. He then looks at her, to find that she has a smile on her face.

'I needed that,' she mouths.

But for showing her a smile, what does he say to that?

How fascinating… That is such a simple action, and yet… So much can be said with a small action such as that. Truly, he is in wonder at the magic that seems to surpass his own. He's amazed at the magic of friendship communication, because this act, he will forever associate it with only her, and thus, deem it as friendship communication.

'My absolute pleasure,' he genuinely returns, turning this into something about her.

Is she taking note of this, he wonders, is she remembering what he said about their friendship being beneficial to both of them? He's about to tell her that he likes that simple thing between them, something that he didn't know before she shared it with him, when Goku out of the blue, appears next to them.

'What was that you did with Whis?' Goku asks Chi-Chi.

The funny thing about Goku is, he doesn't sound upset. He genuinely only sounds wounded, as if she betrayed him in the worst way possible.

Oh dear, Whis holds his breath. Goku has already been in a mood from this morning, and now there's _this_. If this gesture is something that the two of them do on then regular, then he's definitely bound to not take it well. And if Goku's not taking it well, then there is no doubt about Lord Beerus standing where he is, doing the absolute same. The god is most likely, in frustrating silenced, swallowing the razor feeling of watching him interact with Chi-Chi in such a way.

'It was just a fist bump, Goku,' she says, rolling her eyes. 'Let it go.'

'You don't do that with me!' he cries, making it seem like there is a competition going on.

'No, I don't,' Chi-Chi replies in a quiet tone, 'because I do other things with you. I can do one of them right now, if you want.'

The difference between this couple exchange, and the one in the morning for Whis, is that he felt like he didn't have any business witnessing their exchange in the morning. Whereas this one, is comically fun to behold. It's such a treat for him to see Goku acting this way, almost like he is not serious, because it's so childish to act like that, but he knows Goku enough, to realise that this is the real Goku.

No wonder Chi-Chi once confessed that she liked to poke this jealous side of him. Who wouldn't, when Goku's jealousy is so… Well, it's so childlike, in all its seriousness, that anyone who doesn't know him, would think of it as one big inside joke between the couple.

Oh, really, this he has to witness.

Chi-Chi leaning her face towards Goku's, being very suggestive about it, he has to file away for a later conversation. Goku, upon realising what his wife is planning to do, getting a look of alarm on his face, and immediately jumps back, he also has file away.

'Nooo!' he protests, frantically waving his hands at her. 'Not here. Everyone's watching.'

'You're the one who wants me to do something _with_ you,' she responds with a small pout.

'But not now,' Goku stresses. 'Everyone's here.'

Chi-Chi backs away, but still asks, 'Later then?'

As Goku doesn't immediately give an answer, instead choosing to move his head from side to side in consideration, Whis feels his heart rush with anticipation for what happens next. It's exactly like watching a deciding part on a television show, where the one party's answer could settle something, or dismantle an entire conversation altogether. He feels that if Goku doesn't accept Chi-Chi's offer, her home run victory, would crumble to nothing, taking with it, the relief that she got for those few moments.

Oh… The waiting is killing him, but he hopes… Oh, he hopes, he hopes that Goku does not revert his wife back to her 'one of those mornings' mode.

For Goku to make sure that he doesn't take his wife back to that mode, he must realise, Whis quietly reasons, that trying to compare the fist bump action, which happened in the here and now, to something exclusive only to them, which cannot be performed here and now, around spectators, is pointless. Goku has to realise that waiting for an opportune time to have a moment with his wife, doesn't make it less valuable, or more of a hindrance in their relationship, compared to the open and flexible friendship that his wife has with his teacher.

'Goku…' Chi-Chi verbally pushes, probably because she feels that he is taking too long to make a decision.

'Fine, later,' Goku finally says.

He looks to be sulking about the 'later' fact, even shooting a quick annoyed look at Whis, but at least, he decides to let it go. For that, Chi-Chi looks at him gratefully, shamelessly displaying the ease that she once again is experiencing.

'Deal,' she softly promises, taking just the right length of a step, to lightly bump him on the shoulder with her own shoulder.

When Goku sheepishly smiles at her in response to that, a warmed, 'Aaah,' silkily comes out of Whis' mouth, when he really means to express a heart warmed 'Aww,' from the detail of impalpable affection that he sees taking place between the couple.

Well, really, he also wants to express how glad he is that Goku is not a hard man to be melted at heart. And he wants to sing out, just because his friend is settled with her family again, but there is no time for that now. Witnessing this Son resolve, reminds him, that he too has his own god to try and appease, at least on one level. It's hardly just that he prepares a place of ease for his friend, and leaves the one that he serves and cares more for, unattended.

Like Chi-Chi, he has his own needy Goku.

And just like Chi-Chi's Goku, his very own Goku needs his attention.

In that line of thinking, he tears his eyes away from Chi-Chi and Goku, rather turning them to Lord Beerus in the far distance. It's no surprise that he finds Lord Beerus already staring at him, neither is it a surprise that he feels an immediate pull to feel care and responsibility for the god. And then, he knows exactly what to do.

Carefully, just so it's not obvious to anyone else who may be taking an interest in him turned away from Chi-Chi and Goku, he inclines his head to Lord Beerus. It's a small gesture, almost insignificant in size, but it's a sign of an understanding between them, something that they use as a form of confirmatory communication.

No mental communication is needed for this.

Lord Beerus doesn't raise his eyebrows in question, for clarity.

Just that, a simple undetectable nod, is enough to get the message across, and the proof, is in the ever-so-slight smile that draws on the corners of Lord Beerus' mouth.

It's time for a break.

Twenty minutes are still left of the first half, but hmpf, this his game, and that over there, dressed in purple baggy trousers, is his Lord Beerus. Putting the two together, one of which he can do whatever he pleases with, and the other, which he can cater to, using the first item of his possession, he really has no shame or guilt in deciding for an untimely break.

He reaches his hand around his neck for his current favourite item, and then brings it to his mouth, snuggling settling it between his lips, before blowing into it with extreme vigour. Goten's excitement at seeing his mother run to her win, has nothing on this whistle blowing of his.

'Break time!' he happily announces after release the whistle from his mouth.

Aah, how he loves blowing into the whistle, to create such a shrill sound. But, not nearly as much as he likes the seeing the pacified look of his Lord, as the result of his announcement.

* * *

Chapter 24, **Losing Control.**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24, **Losing Control.**

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As soon as the whistle blew for a break, everyone made a hurried dash for the dining table. He stayed behind, of course, at least for the first minute, only to silently watch them with keen interest, as they scattered apart from their respective teams, like they hadn't just been equally baffled by the incident with Chi-Chi's win. Once they had all left him behind, no one paying him any mind, only then, he walked over to join them at the table.

Reaching the table, without giving any thought to it, he takes a seat at the one high end, but only after he is seated, and his eyes have a clear view of everyone else seated with him at the long table, does he realise what he just did. As a result of that realisation, a humoured smile draws on his face. It's funny actually, he mentally laughs at himself, carefully looking on either side of him to see if anyone noticed this about him.

Nobody did, apparently, unless they took sneak peeks at him and then returned to their former positions. Still, though, he finds it funny how he'd come here feeling that he was going to have a break from his usual duties, to completely forget about his second most permanent role, only to make a naturally reflexive choice, without conscious consideration, that ties his memory right back to his role as King in his kingdom.

How funny it really is.

Here he thought that he could slip into the abnormal life (for him) of gathering together with his daughter, son-in-law and all their surrounding friends, without remembering that in another life, he is a man with responsibilities over a community of people, just to do something himself, that reminds him that on another day, he would be;

Listening to the villagers' complaints.

Or hearing their endless requests.

Or providing his time, for them to use as they liked.

Or attending small gatherings here and there, upon invite.

Or a whole lot of things that involved his people, which he, on the whole, wouldn't mind doing, but does like to have a break from at times.

And here he is, at a break, supposed to be abandoning his King role, to relaxation. He should compose himself, though, because here, around these people that he's grown quite acquainted with over the decades, nobody sees him as King, and that role doesn't matter to anyone here. If anything, his role as ruler over a community of people, is not as great as being responsible for defeating the various evils that show up on Earth now and again.

So fine, he took that specific seat out of habit from back home, where he almost always assumes the throne-like seats wherever he is, but nobody cares. Nobody noticed, and nobody is going to call him out on breaking his own rule, of leaving his King mannerisms behind at the castle. And seeing as he is the only person aware of what he's done, and acknowledging that he didn't do it to force his position on anyone, he might as well let it go, and join everyone. Besides, there's an advantage that his seat has, in that he has a good view of everyone here.

On his immediate right, he sees that Goku took the first seat. That makes him smile, because knowing Goku, he probably wouldn't have endured walking to a further away seat, that would've just kept him from eating a little longer. Chi-Chi, his beloved daughter, is naturally sitting next to him, watching in quiet adoration as Goku finishes dumping the last of his food onto his plate. For a bit, just until Goku starts his eating, Ox King fondly considers how precious Goku is to his daughter. While he watches her watch Goku, he finds himself thinking that Goku couldn't have been luckier than taking his daughter for a wife, and Chi-Chi couldn't have been happier taking anyone else for a husband. They fit each other perfectly.

'Goku,' Chi-Chi seems to scold him, 'you act like you don't eat my food every day.'

His daughter's voice snaps him from his private room of thought, to pay proper attention to what's going on around him. He unfortunately missed to clearly see Goku eat in the way that Chi-Chi just scolded him for, although, being attentive now, he gets to see how Goku stops shoving spoonfuls of soup into his mouth, swallows what's in his mouth, and then looks at his wife for a second. Even if Ox King wanted to remain an impartially quiet observer, Goku making that confused, yet slightly embarrassed look directed to his wife, wouldn't allow him to continue in that role; he would've appreciatively smiled either way.

'I can't help it, Chi-Chi,' Goku shyly smiles at her. 'Your food is the best.'

Chi-Chi's smile, Ox King notes, is their own language of communication to Goku, that she likes the compliment coming from him, even if she's heard it before. Unsurprisingly, Goku understands her communicative smile to mean that he can go back to shoving food into his mouth, and so he does. Ox King likes how they have an understanding between them, that no outsider would be able to detect that easily. He's only aware of this about them, because he spends enough time with them, to gather enough essentials about their relationship, and thus easily turn his back to leave for the castle every single time.

Even now, having watched this small exchange between them, he feels that he can move on to see what someone else is up to. It's how he ends up with his eyes on Goten, who is right next to Chi-Chi, hovering in his seat, instead of sitting. It's fitting, he fondly thinks, Goten can never fully separate himself from his parents. He is a child who loves his parents dearly; his mother and father in such high portions, that Ox King sometimes wonders which parent he is joint to the hip with. It's also fitting of him to do something as naughty as hover in his chair, but still, he prays that Chi-Chi doesn't turn Goten's way and catch him like that, because then his fun will end.

He doesn't necessarily think that his daughter is a strict mother, more than she is protective, with good reason. How life has taught her that _anything_ , absolutely anything, could happen to her family, she has ample reason to teach her boys what's safe for them to do and what's not, it's only that he tends to root for the boys, more than for her. Even ganged up on her, they all wouldn't stand a chance against her rules, so it's only right that he always sides with the boys.

In this case, he's hoping that Goten can get away with hovering in his chair as he looks all over the table, for what he wants to load onto his plate. To confirm that Goten can do just that, he switches the angle of his eyes, for direct sight at Chi-Chi, but that is the exact moment that she turns to look at Goten.

Uh-oh, Ox King swallows on behalf of Goten, and quickly looks at him, it looks like he won't get to have his fun, after all.

'Goten…' she calmly speaks his name in a warning.

Too comically, Goten freezes where he is. His body secretly clamps together, and the way that he closes his eyes, it's almost like he is wishing that she doesn't see him. It's amusing to watch his grandson frozen that way, as though he's hoping to be invisible to his mother's eyes, when he knows very well that he can't hide from her.

'Don't hover and eat!' she tells him, still maintaining her calm tone.

First scrunching his nose, probably regretting that he's been caught, Goten opens his eyes, reactivating movement in his body too.

'Yes, Mom,' he quickly answers with a grin, before taking a seat.

Ah, Goten… Goten never fails to make him smile. He's just like his father in character; both completely endearing and innocent about it.

'Don't smile, Goten!' a small but gruff voice commands. 'You look funny with no tooth.'

Because the command was spoken so terribly, no sense of softness and manners, if he can say, Ox King is forced to lose his Goten-induced smile, and rather frown in disapproval, to show to the one responsible for saying that in such a way.

'I don't look funny!' Goten cries. 'Don't say that, Trunks! It's not nice.'

Trunks then, Ox King takes the clue from Goten. So, he is the one who spoke like that, with such commanding authority, and in such an unpleasant way. His eyes find Trunks seated across Goten, neatly eating the food on his plate.

'You look funny,' Trunks maintains. 'You look like a baby. Only babies don't have teeth,' he adds, snickering impolitely.

Ox King is taken aback a little by Trunks' attitude. While he understands that children live for making fun of each other, that is definitely not a nice thing to say to Goten. From what he learned from Chi-Chi earlier, Goten had been very self-conscious about his missing tooth, to the point that he refused to talk.

'I'm not a baby!' Goten responds, sounding quite offended. 'My Mom says it's normal for little boys like me to lose their teeth, right Mom?' he asks, turning to his mother.

'Mhmm,' Chi-Chi agrees. 'You have to lose all your teeth, to get stronger teeth once they grow back.'

'You see, Trunks!' Goten triumphantly gloats. 'My Mom doesn't lie. I'll get stronger teeth than yours!'

Driving the last point home, Goten sticks his tongue at Trunks, who apparently doesn't have an immediate response. Trunks only looks like he realises that he's lost this round of teasing, that he started, which makes Ox King smile. Through the small exchange, he concludes that children will always be children. He does wonder, though, why doesn't Trunks have missing teeth, if he is older than Goten?

'I saw that. Don't be mean, Goten,' Chi-Chi says, making Ox King turn back to her.

She's doesn't not even have her eyes on Goten, to be saying that she saw what he did. Maybe, she saw him from the corner of her eye, he reasons.

'But he's being mean too, Mom,' Goten justifies his behaviour. 'He started teasing me.'

'It doesn't matter,' Chi-Chi firmly tells him.

If Goten knows his mother, he must realise that Chi-Chi just said something final, to put an end to their little game, that he can't say any other thing over it. Goten's silence and sullen expression, are proof that yes, he does know his mother, to understand clearly. Just like Trunks, Goten got the message without much explanation, Ox King thinks, taking his eyes back to Trunks.

In turning his eyes to Trunks, Ox King instead gets a better view of Vegeta and Bulma on his right. Vegeta and Bulma, he realises, are to Trunks, as Gohan and Videl are to Goten across the table. He probably should've gone in line with the orange team on the one side of the table, quietly observing them, even just for a moment, but he would rather pay attention to what Bulma is saying to the person next to her. Unlike Gohan (with Pan safely in his arm) who is quietly talking to Videl, Bulma makes for a much better attention source.

'So, Whis,' she starts the conversation, 'aren't you just glad that _I_ thought of this?'

'I'm extremely thankful, Bulma,' Whis answers.

'You're welcome,' Bulma accepts with a meek smile.

Modesty does _not_ look well on her, Ox King mentally decides. It doesn't look well on her, because she doesn't usually wear it. She's always so assertive in claiming her bragging rights, that modesty looks unfitting on her. It's not a bad thing about her, in fact, she's perfectly fine showing off to the world, what a great person she is. As a former martial artist, he can fully appreciate her pride in her own greatness, to be exactly like the pride of a martial artist in their own strength and abilities.

'Anyhow,' Whis begins after clearing his throat, 'how did you find the game?'

'Thank you for asking that,' Bulma innocently says. 'I've been waiting for you to.'

A little after that, a sharp smacking sound hits through the air so suddenly, that Ox King doesn't know at first where it came from. He swears that his attention has been on Bulma and Whis the whole time, but he also swears that he didn't see what just happened. He clearly heard a smacking sound, which usually would mean that a slap was delivered, but he can't say if he imagined it, because he didn't see it happen.

He's a little tempted to look around the table, to see if anyone else is as lost as he is, and also confirm whether he imagined the smacking sound or not, but he doesn't want to risk missing another thing between Bulma and Whis. If he missed something while his eyes were set right on them, he's bound to miss everything else, if he dares even to look around for anyone feeling the same as him at the table.

Clearly, something did happen, Ox King concludes in spite of his uncertainty, otherwise Whis wouldn't systematically turns his attention from his plate, to look at Bulma. However, whatever happened, can't be bad, or even close to Bulma famously slapping Whis, for anyone else would've spat their food out, and exclaimed some question for her to answer immediately, not give a controlled reaction like that.

'That was for cheating!' Bulma stubbornly answers Whis' look.

Consecutively, Ox King and Whis lift their eyebrows at Bulma, who doesn't appear to be fazed at all. He can only assume that Whis is reacting like that, to show his surprised curiosity, whereas he has his eyebrows lifted in a different type of astonishment. Finding out that Bulma did in fact slap Whis, and receive no violent reaction, is extraordinarily interesting to him.

His interest prematurely drops down, to instead become curious incomprehension, when Bulma swiftly raises her hand, and makes it strike against Whis' cheek in a sharp slap. The same smacking sound from before, snaps through the air again, indeed confirming that Bulma had slapped Whis that first time as well, it was only that he hadn't been attentive enough to catch it happen.

'That was for shaming Vegeta!' she scolds Whis immediately after slapping him.

Silence as constricted as tights on human skin arises, between Whis and Bulma, the smoking vapour of it, wafting all the way to Ox King too. So strong is its hold, that even from where he is, he's trapped with them in the silence. As Bulma stares at Whis, and Whis politely looks back at her, silence doesn't let a sound escape its force field for anything.

Ox King asks himself, would it be wrong for him to look away from the two, and give himself freedom from the captivity of silence? He is not even a part of that conversation, he is simply an observer, who has no part in their exchange. It wouldn't be wrong for him to turn his head the other way, would it? He means, he wouldn't be missing anything anyway, not when the two are simply looking at each other, as though they have all of eternity to do that.

He'll look away then, Ox King decides, if mostly only to get away from the tight silence that's reached him all the way over here. It seems, though, that Whis decides the same as him, that enough is enough, so he clears his throat. After doing that, as though nothing happened, he returns to his plate. It's almost hard to believe that Whis received two slaps from Bulma, endured sticky silence, only to clear his throat and go back to his eating, that Ox King feels the need to blink at least three times, to prove his consciousness.

Two forks down Whis' throat later, however, to Ox King's relief, Whis takes a visible breath, and then without lifting his eyes from his plate says, 'That was a fair reaction, I suppose…'

Had it not been for the fact that he's been an observer all this time, Ox King wouldn't have known or understood if Whis is still talking to Bulma, or if his interests fled to another subject. The way that he trails off, especially, Whis doesn't really sound like he's specifically talking to Bulma, but then his words would make sense only to be directed at Bulma.

'But Bulma,' Whis picks up after taking another long breath, ' _do_ remember to _never_ hit me again. My unguarded reflexes _do not_ have the same self-control which I posses.'

An explosion, -and this Ox King would back up with his daughter's precious life- could've gone off squarely between Bulma and Whis, and it would've done nothing to crack the fine silence that once again settles around them.

Stifling, the silence is.

Sensitive, the silence also is.

And it makes him squirm in his seat, just being a witness to it.

The sound of silence in certain situations, Ox King concludes, is an extraordinary thing. It could prove bothering to one person in one situation, while to another, in another situation, it could prove the salvation needed for _that_ moment. In this particular situation (which he is not even a part of), with Whis and Bulma, the sound of silence that settles itself between them, clearly speaks the immaculate threat, that Whis' polite smile, soft tone and lack of visual contact, don't.

If he knew better, Ox King would've sworn that no one is capable of manipulating their actions and inactions, to subtly pave the way for the killing blow, that's not even directly delivered. If he knew better, he would've, but as it is, he can only stare at Whis in awe.

Chi-Chi mentioned Whis to him, he recalls. She had asked him if he would have a problem with her having Whis as a friend, but she never went beyond that. She had told him some things, of course, but what she had told him about Whis, now seems like a small illegible scrawl of what he really is. Because really, who exists in the world, who threatens another with _such calm_ , _such patience_ , _such class_ , and without taking a break from his eating to do it?

Just what type of being is this Whis?

Is he a pretender of some kind?

One thing is for sure, though, Ox King lets out a sigh, simply being an observer of what happens between Bulma and Whis won't give him the answers that he needs. In order to find out the truth about this Whis, for his daughter's sake, he'll make a point to pull Whis aside later, and talk to him, just to gather for himself, the type of being that Whis _really_ is.

'Ehe-He,' Bulma nervously laughs, she being the one to break through the silence this time. 'Oh, look,' she looks around Whis, 'Lord Beerus seems to be enjoying his food.'

Ox King's attention, is then turned to the god, who, with a mouth full of food gruffly says, 'Leave me out of this! I'm eating!'

Well, that settles it, a small smile working its way onto his face. He should move on to the next person, he supposes, not Lord Beerus. Or maybe, he should do the better thing and get to eating. After all, he shouldn't be the only one missing out on his daughter's food.

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 **26Chapters**

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Wow, it's amazing how much everyone _can_ eat. It's amazing, because years ago, he stopped being amazed at how much his daughter _could_ cook. He's amazed at how clear most of the dishes are, when he'd seen just how full the table had been. Meat upon meat, the table had been stacked with. Rice dishes, vegetable dishes, soup dishes and sweet dishes had laid on the table, although most of them are now empty. And it's precisely the wrong time for anyone new to make an appearance.

Hercule Satan and Majin Buu, for example.

'Hallo everyone,' Hercule proudly announces his appearance to the people dispersing from the dining table. 'I'm sorry that I'm late, but my fans wouldn't allow me to leave.'

Getting up from the table himself, being one of the last three people still at the table, Ox King turns his attention to Hercule. He wonders, though, would his fans really not let him to leave, or he wouldn't allow his fans to let him leave, because he wanted more of their attention? It wouldn't be a farfetched for the latter to be the actual case, considering how strange a man Hercule Satan is.

'Mr. Satan,' Ox King accepts the other man's greeting, adding to the others who just politely greeted him.

That's where he is willing to leave it with Hercule for now. On a full stomach, Ox King doesn't want to endure listening to him talking about his various activities. Hercule is a caring man, and a wonderful grandfather to Pan, but for the most part, he is too absorbed in his public image, and to the person who gives him the time, he makes suffer through hearing about all of it. Well, not today, Ox King will not be that person, because he would most importantly like to catch Whis for a talk.

He turns his way to go and find Whis, just as Buu rushes over to the food table to join Lord Beerus. A little voice in his head reminds him of the last time that Buu and Lord Beerus had been in a setting with food together, but seeing as Piccolo is still seated at the table, even if Piccolo is not eating, Ox King feels less need to concern himself with Buu joining Lord Beerus. Piccolo wouldn't in any way tolerate Buu to start nonsense, so really, nothing bad could possibly go wrong between Buu and Lord Beerus over food. Not with Piccolo guarding them.

With that in mind, he feels comforted enough to leave the table with ease, in search for Whis. It doesn't take much walking, or looking, to find Whis in the open space. It's rather approaching a pensive-looking Whis, that he falters on. Remembering how he'd elegantly threatened Bulma, Ox King wouldn't like to find out how efficiently and politely Whis can threaten _him_ , for interrupting his introspective moment. Fortunately for him, where he falters in moving forward, Whis seems to sense him, rather turning to meet him.

'May I help you?' he kindly asks, his voice something of a soothing sound.

 _Deceptively soothing that voice is_ , a little dark part in Ox King's mind speaks out of turn. In all honesty, he's shocked by its existence, as he did nothing to invite such a thought into his consciousness. Least of all, about a man that he has yet to talk with, to try and uncover a little bit. He can't afford for his mind to be biased in this way, if he wants to discover the type of man that now has a part in his daughter's life.

'Oh… Uh… Yes,' he pulls from his thoughts to answer. 'It was just… Um… My daughter tells me that you two are friends.'

His eyes look at Whis with silent patience, hoping to prove to the Whis, that he is in no way looking for an unnecessary line of conversation. In return, as though to test the validity of that, Whis looks back at him with a little scrutiny, and then without any fore indication, his pale blue cheeks light up with a bit of purple colour. Oddly, though, his unexpected blush makes Ox King feel a little more comfortable around him. The fact that Whis can blush, proves that there is a sensitive heart in there, within him, capable of spur-of-the-moment feelings.

'Oh my, yes,' Whis shyly chuckles, 'Yes we are. I like her very much.'

In a true manner of a father, so as not to give himself away, and to keep his emotions reserved and undetected, Ox King quietly nods to welcome that information from him, just then holding out his hand for him to take.

'Ox King,' his deep voices introduces himself. 'Chi-Chi's father.'

'Glad to meet you, Ox King,' Whis responds with a genuine smile, and a tight hand grip.

What happens next, Ox King would only lean towards calling it a miracle. A miracle, because they silently fall into comfortable accord, standing next to each other, with their eyes wandering all over the open space, from here to there. They couldn't have both thought to do the same thing, in the same way, without feeling uncomfortable, and yet, their respective thoughts while they stand here, most likely, not being the same, Ox King feels such an ease between them, that isn't forced at all. That is, until he remembers something worth sharing with Whis.

'Chi-Chi didn't have any friends growing up,' he remembers. 'I'm happy to know that she has one more addition to her boys.'

'Her boys?' Whis asks with tickled wonder.

Surprised, Ox King turns his head to look at Whis, asking, 'You haven't noticed that she's only surrounded by males?'

'Ah, yes,' Whis nods. 'Her sons and husband. Oh, and you, her father, of course.'

'There's also Piccolo,' Ox King informs him. 'And now there's you. Welcome to the group,' he adds with a merry laugh.

'I appreciate that,' Whis carefully appreciates, his eyes closing as though to savour the fact. 'It's not everyone that welcomes me as you do.'

In small nondescript details, Chi-Chi told him about Goku's recent behaviour. Considering how she used to tell him everything when she was younger, it's incredible how Chi-Chi grew into a careful woman, nit-picking what she says to him, and how much of that she actually shares with him. No matter, though, if Whis is mentioning it to him now, then it must be something bigger than the little that his daughter shared with him. It must touch Whis in some way, clearly, Ox King reasons. Being a merry man at heart, also since they are in the spirit of talking openly, he momentarily forgets the classy backlash that happened with Bulma earlier, and softly pats Whis on the back.

'Oh,' he merrily quells, 'don't you worry about Goku.'

When Whis only looks at him in silence after that, he suddenly remembers…

He suddenly realises what he has done and…

His heart stops.

Actually, no, the merriness leaves his heart first, and then only it stops. Even with a heart not functioning, he knows better than to stay quiet, when he can, and should apologise right away for getting carried away. He's not a fearful man, nothing like that, it's only that this Whis is someone that he still needs to figure out, and he would rather that he didn't get on Whis' bad side.

'Forgive me, Whis,' he evenly says, to which Whis only shakes his head.

'It's quite all right,' Whis tells him, his small smile doing much of the assuring than his word. 'And oh, Ox King,' he adds, 'I don't worry at all, except, perhaps for…'

As he trails off, Whis rotates his body and looks directly towards the table. Having followed the movements, Ox King also sets his eyes on the table with Whis, just as Whis decides to point to one particular person at the table, to complete his previous sentence in one breath.

'Him,' Whis says, quickly adding, 'Will you excuse me, Ox King.'

Suddenly, Whis leaves him standing by himself, and Ox King realises that Whis didn't speak a question to him. And with good reason that Whis just made the announcement and left, because from what Ox King can make out from here, is that there's a squabble between Buu and Lord Beerus at the table.

And here he thought that nothing would happen between the two.

He was wrong, it seems, for it clearly appears to be that Buu, in coming late, must've felt entitled to _all_ the leftovers, wanting to hog all the food for himself. That want of his, obviously must've been to Lord Beerus' displeasure, obviously, and that is why Whis took off as abruptly as he did.

Oh well, he hopes that Whis can dissolve the matter. As for him, it's about time that he got to spend a little time with his daughter, plus, he didn't yet congratulate her on winning her round, amongst other things. Now that he has no one else to observe or talk to, it's ripe for him to go over to his daughter.

'I was just talking to Whis, and he seems like a good man,' he remarks upon reaching Chi-Chi. 'He told me that he likes you very much.'

Standing beside her, Goku immediately gives him a funny look. He acknowledges it, but doesn't pay any mind to it, until Chi-Chi frowns at him.

'Dad!' she seems to warn him.

Oh, he hastily sucks in a breath, his bad. He didn't realise that he said something harmful, or unwelcome.

'I'm sorry sweetheart,' he gently apologises, only, he won't hold his feelings in. 'I _do_ like him, though.'

Again, he notices how Goku gives him a funny look, but says nothing to him. It's strange that although his son-in-law keeps giving him these looks, he refuses to speak up about why he is being like that.

'Goku, my boy, what is it?' he wants to know.

'I just don't like it,' Goku answers, the frown on his face deepening.

What exactly Goku doesn't like, Ox King doesn't get to find out, because Whis suddenly appears where they are, and automatically reaches for Chi-Chi's elbow into his hold.

'Chi-Chi…' he somewhat agitatedly calls her name, 'I need your help.'

While yes, Whis looks be in an urgent state of mind, and Chi-Chi easily appears to understand that about him perfectly, Goku doesn't get to that same level. Rather, he makes an irritated sound, simultaneously tearing Chi-Chi away from Whis' touch, long before Whis can get into talking about the help that he needs.

'Goku, please, not now,' Whis absently tells him, reaching out his hand out for Chi-Chi again.

As his hand is still on Chi-Chi's forearm, Goku quickly pulls Chi-Chi behind him, moving to protectively stand in front of her, to shield her away from Whis' hand. What a waste it was to do that, Ox King observes, when Chi-Chi easily moves from behind him with a clicking tongue, to be close to Whis again.

'For goodness sake, Goku,' she tiredly reproaches, 'this isn't the time!' She then looks at Whis to ask, 'What is it?'

'Lord Beerus and Buu can't seem to agree on who is to have the more food,' the explanation hurriedly leaves Whis' mouth, 'and I fear the worst. Is there any way that you could make something? Extremely fast, perhaps?'

'Enough for two?' she asks, although, she sounds sceptical about it.

'I am sorry about that, but I see no other way,' he tells her, looking at her with compassion. 'Believe me, Chi-Chi, I know Lord Beerus, and if he doesn't get what he wants…' he pauses to let out a tired sigh, and then only continues with, 'I'm afraid that he only needs a single excuse.'

Quietly, like she completely understands what Whis means, Chi-Chi nods, this time, being the one to reach out her hand and try touch him. In a comforting attempt, probably, she does that, it's only that Goku once again pulls her away from Whis' reach, putting Chi-Chi behind him like before.

'Goku…' Whis seems to warn, that even his eyebrows come together.

'You can just make the food appear with your staff,' Goku irritably answers him. 'You don't need Chi-Chi for that.'

Observing the situation, as he hasn't yet said anything, Ox King feels like he is the father of a daughter, that two men are fighting custody for.

It's the strangest thing for him to feel like this, like he has no place in the battle, but that's how he feels. He doesn't want his daughter caught in the middle of this, in the middle of two men, one of whom she has to choose from. However, he doesn't feel like he has any power whatsoever in this situation.

On the one hand, he understands Goku's need to keep Chi-Chi away from Whis, because she has always been sheltered away from the world. But on the other hand, he also understands that Whis is Chi-Chi's friend, and he feels comfortable enough around her, to confide in her.

'Goku, listen to me,' she starts, her finger pointing at Whis from behind Goku, ' _he_ is stressed, can you see that?'

Well, if Chi-Chi is asking, Ox King thinks, _his_ answer to that, would be that no, he can't see that Whis is stressed. A little disturbed, maybe, but he doesn't look _stressed_. Goku appears to think the same way, as he closely looks peers at Whis, to confirm this apparent stress of Whis'.

'He needs a solution,' she continues, bringing Goku's attention back to her. 'If he thought doing it himself would solve the problem, he would do it. Come on, Goku, he's Whis.'

'Exactly!' Goku responds to her, after her faces her. 'He can do _anything_. He cheated for you to win!'

'You need to stop, because you're beginning to stress me all over again,' she tells him, shaking her hands to illustrate this. 'He's asking for my help, because he needs it, not because he has nothing better to do than get my attention.'

'But-' Goku tries, only to be sternly cut off.

'Goku!'

'Chi-Chi, I just-'

'No!' she cuts him off again. 'You don't understand. I'm trying not to go crazy here, okay? I can deal with _you_ stressing me,' she expressly tells him. 'There's a place inside of me that knows how to handle stress from you. But stress from Whis, I _can't_ deal with. I don't know how to deal with it, and I don't want his stress to stress me too, so just let me try what I can for him. _Please_.'

To that, Goku says nothing in response, but it does look like Chi-Chi's words hurt him. The way that his face looks torn, tells the story of a man who doesn't know what else he can do, but just stand there and do nothing.

Ox King feels a pang of sympathy for him. That sympathy, mostly stems from his own personal guilt for actually feeling like he should take Whis' side on this. In his own defence, if for one second, Goku would just consider that Whis wouldn't have any problem producing replica food from thin air, and yet, he still chose to come to Chi-Chi, he'd catch on that there's something here that is not being said aloud.

But still, to be fair, Goku _is_ his son-in-law, the man married to his daughter, and he, Ox King, has an obligation, if nothing else, to make sure that his son-in-law is all right, in order to make his daughter happy. Because of this, he sympathetically places his hand over Goku's shoulder, for comfort. His comfort is accepted, or maybe, Goku just decides to give up, by looking at him and then move out of the way for Chi-Chi.

'Go,' he quietly, yet sadly tells Chi-Chi, who goes around him, to Whis.

'The best I can do, is dessert,' she tells Whis.

'It's enough,' Whis nods in agreement, it's only that Chi-Chi doesn't seem convinced.

'You sure?' she wants to know.

Dipping his head to the side, as though to say that he has considered it, and found it to be a better alternative, he coolly replies with, 'I'm hoping. Like I said, he just needs the smallest excuse, so anything to avoid that, is welcome.'

For only second, Chi-Chi lightly touches Whis' arm, and then faces Goku. The looks that she gives him, Ox King reads, is like she's disappointed in him, but at the same time, she wants to give him a hug. How she manages to pull off a look like that, Ox King can't even begin to understand, he can only accept it for what it is.

'I'll be back,' she gently announces.

Whether she means that for Whis, or for Goku, who she's looking at, Ox king can't decide, and because it leaves him feeling uncomfortable to choose between who he will stay with, he opts for going with Chi-Chi. It's the easier save from actively picking a side.

'I'll help you, Chi-Chi,' he offers, quickly letting go of Goku's shoulder.

'Meanwhile,' Whis makes his own announcement, 'I'll be trying to calm Lord Beerus down.'

Of all of them, Whis is the first to leave, and then Chi-Chi takes her leave too. Ox King, not willing to be awkwardly left with Goku, and deal with the tense environment left behind by Whis and Chi-Chi, quickly starts walking away too. Out of sympathy, though, at three steps away, he looks back at Goku, to make sure that he will be okay.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

As soon as he and Chi-Chi come around to the group, Whis is the first to notice them, immediately coming over to meet them.

'Thank goodness you are here,' he reaches for both of them, as they both have round covered platters. 'I'm afraid that Lord Beerus has gotten into the spirit of screaming at Buu, and Buu, has taken to screaming back at him. It's rather noisy for my liking,' his eyes roll for emphasis, 'but I suppose that letting Lord Beerus air out his frustrations that way, is good for him.'

'We have the dessert,' Ox King offers him the large platter.

That, is really him offering a solution, because all that he's heard so far, is that Whis didn't succeed in calming Lord Beerus down, like he said he'd try to do. Nonetheless, Whis accepts the invitation to take the platters, using his staff to retrieve the platters from them, to make them float in front of him.

'Where's my husband?' Chi-Chi instantly asks Whis, after her hands are free.

'Over there,' Whis points in a direction to their left.

Not even following Whis' finger with her eyes, she simply leaves without saying anything to either of them.

He doesn't know why, nor can he understand why it's to _this_ extent, but watching her walking away from them in such haste, makes him feel so desperately sorry for her. He's thought about it, actually, replaying what he heard her say to Goku earlier, he's gathered that she had been talking about something more than just _that_ moment. Something must've happened before. Before when, he doesn't know, he only knows that something happened between them before, that hasn't quite been solved yet.

'I wonder if I should worry about them,' he says aloud to himself as he takes off after Whis.

While following Whis to Lord Beerus and Buu, he looks around to see if anyone else is concentrating on Buu and Lord Beerus' argument. They are watching, he realises, which is probably a result from the last time that Lord Beerus got upset. He also sees that the table of food is long abandoned, except for Oolong, who is taking the remaining food into his pockets. It's just like him to do that. Everyone else, though, is scattered around, almost putting Buu and Lord Beerus in a circle.

Gohan and his family, are huddled close together. Actually, Gohan has Pan protectively held in his arms, while he stands with half of his body covering Videl, enough to shield her from immediate danger, without obscuring her line of vision. Just a step away from them, Piccolo is standing in what would look like a calm stance, but Ox King knows that it's really a meditative posture, that's designed to make him extremely flexible, to detect danger a mini-second before it happens.

Two steps away from Gohan's family, on the other side where Hercule isn't attentively watching the screaming fight, is Vegeta standing directly in front of his family; Trunks on his left, and Bulma on his right. He is a man that is clearly not trying to hide the fact that he will immediately protect his family, if it comes to that. On the side of Trunks, is Goten, just watching, because his parents are…

His parents... Where _are_ his parents? He never made it a point to see if Chi-Chi ever found Goku. So, to find Chi-Chi and Goku, he looks back in an angled turn. In the near distance, he sees that they found each other, and are standing close together. Although from here, his vision is not perfectly clear, it seems to him, that she is doing all the talking, while Goku listens to here, with his head down. Their proximity at least, is enough for him to know that even though they don't seem to like each other at the moment, there is still that need for spiritual closeness between them.

He shouldn't worry too much about then, he thinks, deciding to go back to Whis, for the more pressing issue that has everyone gathered together with silent attentiveness.

'Everyone is worried about the fight,' he comments to Whis. 'I hope that this dessert will stop them.'

'I'm hoping the same,' Whis confesses in a strained release of breath.

Whis is a strangely interesting man; quite a mystery he is. For all his mystery, surely, he must have some power over Lord Beerus. In comparison, even his human servants have some type of power over him. The ones who have served him for long enough, know some of his weaknesses, and sometimes use that to coerce him into one thing or another. Which means that, Whis, with all his magical abilities, can do something to pacify Lord Beerus, because it seems too unlikely that he can't.

'Is there really nothing you can do, Whis?' he asks.

'I'm assuming that you mean with Lord Beerus?' Whis asks in return, keeping his feet moving.

Even though Whis is not looking at him, he nods his answer. It's just as well that Whis turns to him then, to see the nod for himself.

'I can't _reason_ with him, if that is what you mean,' evenly leaves Whis' mouth. 'He has his mind made up, and reasoning with him, would be vain. The best that I can do, is knock him out, but that wouldn't do, as all of this is meant to be an act of reconciliation for the parties that matter.'

Does that have another translation? It's that he's not sure that he grasps all of Whis' explanation, in its fullness.

'Lord Beerus willingly agreed to be here,' Whis politely explains it further, 'which means that he would like to be on good terms with me, and at least try to see Chi-Chi as someone that he can trust me with. If I were to knock him out, to prevent this disturbing ruckus, I would be disassembling the joint roads to reconciliation, that I have patched together here.'

Um… Yes, that's still almost gibberish to him, and for a man who taught and tutored Chi-Chi until she was twelve, that's not flattering at all.

Sighing, Whis shakes his head to say, 'Chi-Chi understands, if you don't. You could ask her later, if you will, however, she will only tell you that it's all about balance and control. It's about working in a way that doesn't make the other one feel dishonoured, while maintaining that power over them.'

'I see,' Ox King moves his head up and down in a majestic way, at last beginning to see a glimpse of what Whis is trying to tell him.

'Perhaps it looks lazy on my part to involve Chi-Chi, considering what I can do, but I am doing something,' Whis says. 'I'm patching pathways. So now, if you will excuse me again, Ox King.'

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

To Ox King, it feels exactly like that first time when Bulma slapped Whis. Only, with a bigger wave of confusion. He swears, his attention hadn't been away from everyone gathered here for that long, but turning it back to them, he suddenly finds it rowdy. All he did, was check on Chi-Chi and Goku afar, and then after that, he visually followed the crowd move away from the broken up fight between Buu and Lord Beerus, and now, they are apparently back at it again?

Where between him looking away, and Whis calming Lord Beerus with several quick desserts, did Buu find the time to move closer to Lord Beerus without anyone's notice, that they are now back disagreeing?

And where in the world is Whis?

Also, when did Lord Beerus get off the ground to be mounted high above ground level?

'I've had enough of you, you fat greedy pig,' Lord Beerus says in a booming voice from above. 'I've had it up to here. You've irked me far too much today, and I will finally destroy you.'

 _Whis_ , Ox King frantically looks around, where is _Whis_?

How did he allow it to come to this again?

He continues to look around for Whis, but he only finds his acquaintances moving as far away from Buu as possible. He is only a small distance from Buu, and although he wouldn't like to be destroyed together with Buu, he doesn't move away, because looking for Whis is more important to him.

'Buu doesn't like _you_ , greedy bad man!' Buu's voice momentarily draws him out of his searching.

Really, Ox King collects himself enough to turn away from the distraction, just _where is Whis_?

Whis should be keeping an eye on Lord Beerus. This is his daughter's home property and he would rather that nothing requiring fixing, happens to it; she has enough on her plate as it is. He can't place it exactly, but there's just an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach about the argument. And his immediate worry, is only for Chi-Chi, and adding more stress to her than she already feels.

He wonders, should he start calling out for Whis?

Just where in the world is Whis?

Ox King feels that as much as the sudden chaos isn't helping his rising anxiety, neither is missing Whis, and to try and remedy anxiety that he doesn't need, his eyes search and search, here and there, only to come up with nothing.

Except for the new addition of an approaching Goku, Ox King doesn't catch sight of anything more than what he'd already seen. Subconsciously, he notices that Goku doesn't seem all that happy, or interested in the argument between Buu and Lord Beerus, even though he is making his way to it. Subconsciously as well, Ox King's stomach drops. He's not consciously aware of it, but his subconscious mind reasons that if Whis is nowhere to be found, and Goku has no interest in saving Buu from Lord Beerus, then something unsavoury is bound to happen here.

The pinch of concentrated worry that adds to his anxiety...

All of a sudden, looking away from Goku, (as he isn't aware of what is happening in his subconscious), he feels seven degrees more frantic to find Whis than before. In urgency, he makes his eyes go from person to person _again_ , looking to find if behind each person, he missed to see the blue and purple of Whis. All over the people scattered on the ground, his eyes go; Eighteen. Tien. Hercule. Piccolo. Krillin. Yamcha and Puar. Vegeta. Bulma. Trunks. Goten. Gohan and Pan. Videl. Oolong. Master Roshi. And then Buu. But no Whis. Goku is coming to join them, but he's not with Chi-Chi, and if he's not with Chi-Chi, then it can only mean that Whis and Chi-Chi are together.

But where _are_ they?

' _Greedy bad man_ , you say?' Lord Beerus sneers from his spot above, capturing Ox King's attention again. 'I'll show you…'

It takes a skilled martial artist, at least two practising seconds, to draw a singularly coloured energy ball out of them. In the case of Lord Beerus, however, those seconds count for nothing, as he fluidly produces from thin air, a brilliantly purple ball of destruction, around a small white centre, as though it's nothing to him. The details of the destruction ball, are so perfectly intricate, that they seem to boasting in the fact that Lord Beerus is capable of something of grandeur; the overlapping purple swirls that form a wonderful globe, and the fine specks of sparks between the swirls, giving the purple colour its brilliance... He did all that in one unpractised move, including the way he outstretches his palm towards Buu, that it makes the rest of them, who turn their attention to Buu, to see his reaction, look like a rehearsed act.

'Buu cannot be destroyed!' Buu screams at Lord Beerus, sticking his tongue out as a way of infuriating the god.

'We'll see about that,' Lord Beerus growls his reply, clearly enjoying their back and forth.

When Ox King turns back to see how Buu will react this time, his eyes instead catch sight of Chi-Chi coming towards them. For the third time this afternoon, he finds himself wondering _how_ he's been missing visuals and shifting moments in this way. How had he failed to see Chi-Chi beginning to approach them, that he's seeing her now?

Well, he shakes his head, it doesn't matter anymore what he noticed in time, and what he didn't. What matters, is that she's here now, approaching them, but... She's not with Whis, he realises.

Oh, how he wishes he could find one vulgar word in his vocabulary to use. Returning his attention to Buu, and seeing him simply sticking his tongue out, before smoking a whole volume of fumes from the holes in his head, Ox King really feels like saying a bad word against Whis' absence. More so, when the emitted fumes spread all around the area, covering the place in white blindness for anyone with their eyes open.

Small gasps of surprise fill the air from different people, but Ox King can already tell that this smoke, is only a temporary distraction for Lord Beerus, and he only has to wait for the smoke to clear. During the first two seconds after the smoke clears, Ox King, just like everyone else, first adjusts to the clearing, and then only his eyes properly focus on the spot they'd last been on. He's instantly surprised to find that Buu is not in the same spot anymore, because he hadn't thought that far about Buu's plan. However, that surprise, is nothing compared the most frightening thing that his heart has ever done, when his eyes finally find where Buu is standing now.

His heart clenches.

Solidly, without any type of grace accompanying it, his heart clenches. It would actually be painful for to feel that, if he didn't, in a higher portion, feel all the breath in his lungs leave him, while an uncomfortable tingling, starts to dance under his skin.

'Ha!' Lord Beerus' voice mocks Buu in the clearness. 'Did you really think that foolhardy trick would work on me? I can see you right _there_.'

Right there.

Ox King feels a tingling dance of sweat begin to rise to the surface of his skin.

Right there, is too close to Chi-Chi.

Probably, only a small step is separating Buu's left side from Chi-Chi's right.

He can't breathe, and without breath, he can't call out for his daughter to move away from Buu. Although he has never seen Lord Beerus destroy anything, just the teaser of Chi-Chi getting caught in the crossfire, just the flirt of her being counted together with Buu for destruction, scares his life to a complete standstill.

'Say goodbye!' Lord Beerus announces, sounding like he has a smile on his face.

No, no, no, Ox King's mind desperately cries, as the sweat increases on his skin.

No, no, no, not yet.

Lord Beerus _has_ to wait for another foolhardy trick from Buu, and then only make him say goodbye.

Just not yet, please. Not while Chi-Chi is absolutely still next to Buu, most likely unaware of the seriousness of what is really going on.

If only he could cry out for Chi-Chi to move away from Buu...

'Hey! Beerus!' a sharply shrill voice abruptly pierces through the air, touching even his clenched heart. 'I bet you hoped that I wouldn't come, after all!'

A truly distasteful snicker follows that annoying voice, inexplicably causing Ox King to move his head in the direction of it. Apparently, the effect of the voice, is the same on Lord Beerus, that he is shocked into sharply manoeuvring his upper body and the arm with the energy ball, to make way for his sharp turn.

In a matter of a half blink, as a result of the unprepared turn, the energy ball that had been in his hand, leaves in a catapulted release, to make its way towards the direction and destination of its choice. Ox King doesn't get to see where it lands, because he is still focused on looking for the voice that spoke.

'Champa!' Lord Beerus tightly gets out of his mouth. ' _Don't_ ever speak up on me again!'

'Why?' the annoying voice asks with a torturous laugh. 'Did I scare you, little Beerus?'

'Go away, Champa!' Lord Beerus dismisses. 'You-'

The rest of what he was going to say, is completely drowned out by a sharp and heartfelt cry that suddenly explodes in the air. It's so distinct, that the clouds in the sky, seem to tremble out of place at the sound of it.

'That was _CHI-CHI_!'

The pain expressed in that howl, is what makes Ox King snap his head back to ground level. It's not necessarily that his daughter's name was mentioned, in past tense, no less, it's rather the pain resonating from the scream, that steals all of his attention. His stolen attention, in turn leads to his eyes seeing what they hadn't seen before now; Empty space. Where Chi-Chi had been.

In the distance, probably near Lord Beerus in the sky, he hears that same annoying voice from before hurriedly exclaim, 'Uh… Oops! Vados! Let's go! Now!', but he doesn't care for that voice, or its words, because the space where his daughter had been, is now clear of her form.

His Chi-Chi…

Is he even breathing?

He feels so stunned that he can't move.

Buu is where he was, but Chi-Chi, _Chi-Chi is gone_. And Goku, Ox King's head adjusts to see him, Goku was apparently too late to get to her. Judging from where he is, Goku appears to have been only a second away from getting to her, just to miss her.

But...

Why didn't Goku use that Instant Transmission of his? If he'd only followed Lord Beerus destruction ball seconds too late, why didn't he instantly transmit to Chi-Chi just like that, and then save her?

'That…' he sees Goku draw in successive breaths. 'Was…' Goku pulls in more breaths, his chest visibly shaking. ' _CHI-CHI_!' he finally explodes without care.

If Ox King thought that he couldn't feel any more than he already is, the recent explosion tears that thought right out of him. In fact, the effect of the explosion tears too much from him, that he is only left with feeling like a robotic bystander in all of this. When a voice speaks here, he turns to see it. When a movement is made there, he turns to see it as well. Like now;

As slowly as Goku rotates to face Lord Beerus, Ox King automatically follows his lead. Looking up, he finds that Lord Beerus looks extremely petrified, like he can't believe what just happened. Also, suddenly, there is Whis, in the middle space between Goku on the ground, and Lord Beerus in the air.

'Goku… I…' Lord Beerus seems to stutter, looking down Whis' way.

Whis is, Ox King observes after following Lord Beerus' lead, calm. No, he changes his mind, that's not calmness on Whis' face. What he is seeing, is that Whis looks completely dead in his stillness; his whole body seems frozen, and he just looks _dead_ from face to shoes.

'Whis,' Lord Beerus frantically pleads from where he is, 'Tell him. I…'

His plea, leads to nothing, no reaction and no response. Whis doesn't get out of his frozen state. He doesn't say anything either, so Lord Beerus moves to appear next to him, to starts to shaking him on the shoulder.

'Whis, tell him,' he continues to repeat. 'I didn't…'

Shaken only once, Whis uncharacteristically pulls out of his trance, more robotically than not, only to swat Lord Beerus' hand away from him. He does it, Whis swats Lord Beerus' hand off him, and it even seemed like it was going to be the softest of swats, considering the way that Whis' hand slowly lifted to his shoulder to remove the hand. But apparently, upon lifting his hand, his entire folded arm went with it, and his elbow made contact with Lord Beerus' chest, as his hand moved too far back to swat the other hand away.

Following that, Lord Beerus gives the most horrified look that he has ever shown in public, just before flying back, as if against his will.

Ox King, being a mere observer, can't even wonder if Whis deliberately hit Lord Beerus, or if in his shocked state, Whis used more power than was necessary to push Lord Beerus' touch away from him. He can't think of anything like that, because away from Whis, Lord Beerus (as frozen as he is) is suddenly met by Goku in the air, and that interests him more to wonder about.

For a reason that Ox King doesn't yet understand, Goku is suddenly joined by Gohan, with baby Pan in his arms. Just then, Piccolo joins them in the air, shortly followed by Goten with tears in his eyes.

After Goku screamed that first time, Ox King hadn't given any thought to anyone else. He didn't consider if anyone else knew that Chi-Chi was just destroyed, but seeing the four now, he wonders if they communicated with each to do this. What he can be sure of, is that they all seem determined to take Goku's lead; whatever it is.

Ox King sees Goku eye the four people (including Pan) surrounding him, forming a semi circle around the god, and then considers their positions. Not even a breath after that, in an effortlessly delivered move, Gohan, Goten and Piccolo take on attacking charges, facing Lord Beerus directly. Goku on the other hand, is way ahead of them, because where they position themselves, he is already waiting to do the wave, that once could only be done by Master Roshi.

'Ka-me-ha-me…' Goku impatiently starts, only to wait there, in order to efficiently gather all of the energy needed to complete the delivery of the wave.

Following him, is Gohan, who unlike his father, takes a little longer of a breather between the syllables, to lessen the waiting process for the energy at the end. There's careful fluidity in the way that he prepares his single hand, as the other has Pan held into his chest, and there's a calm about him, that's abnormally terrifying to observe.

'Ka…' Gohan softly speaks, and then takes a breath. 'Me…' he takes another long breath. 'Ha…' a longer breath leaves him on this syllable. 'Me…' he takes the last leading breath, into the waiting pause that's inevitable.

Piccolo, seeing this from Gohan, makes an attempt to take Pan from Gohan's hold, but Gohan buries his daughter further into him. Apparently taking that as enough communication, Piccolo closes his eyes for a second, and then puts the beginning of palms and the ending of his wrists together, to prepare for the wave famous in the Son family.

 _Hm_ , Ox King has _never_ seen Piccolo do something like that, but…

'Ka-me…' Piccolo's deep voice breathes, rushing the syllables closer together, just not in the way of Goku. 'Ha-me…' he continues after a breath, just before he rests in waiting for that last syllable.

As the last one in line, Goten decides to power up to his Super Saiyan mode, and he, unlike the others, does exactly what he has been taught about the wave, which is that he needs to give enough rest between speaking the full name of the wave, for his body enough time to gather all the necessary energy.

'Ka…' he gives out through a strong sob, and then takes a long pause. 'Me…' Goten speaks again, taking a timely long pause. 'Ha…' he says, adding a third long pause. 'Me…' comes the last syllable, which quietly fades into the final pause.

During that final pause, both Gohan and Goku power up beyond their current powers. It's usually a trick, that comes in handy to give current power an effective surprise boost, which must be what both of them are aiming for. While Gohan only goes beyond the power up of a Super Saiyan, Goku chooses to make himself thinner, and wear red hair, with deep red eyes. There's no screaming during the power up. There aren't any dramatics either, it's solely a neat transition, where eye and hair colours change a breath before all four of them speak together, that final missing syllable.

' _Ha_!' the exclamation fills the air in variations of tones and cadences, paving the way for the individual waves that are fired at once, in unison.

The waves start off separate and individually. In the first seconds of travel time, the waves are independently individual, until they meet at a shrinking curve during their travel, to create on big ball of whitish blue light, directed at the unmoving god.

Combined, the wave is almost too bright to leave anyone's sight intact, but almost as soon as it meets, it hits pushes forwards faster, to reach its target faster, and then disappear almost directly after meeting its target. There is, surprisingly no smoke to clear, nor are there dramatics that need to come to an end, there's only the final result of _nothing_ replacing the place where Lord Beerus had been. That final resolution, almost makes it feel and look like nothing happened at all, except, something _did_ happen.

Chi-Chi was destroyed.

His precious daughter, Chi-Chi, was destroyed, and now, without the distraction of happenings around him…

' _Whis_ ,' Goku brokenly breaks through the nothingness following their attack.

Sick relief pour over Ox King for that. It's wrong, but another distraction of focusing on anything other than himself and his own thoughts, is better than being left to deal with the consequences of the fact that his daughter was destroyed. That being so, he focuses on Goku going over to Whis, closely followed by Gohan and Goten.

'Whis…' Goku cries again, apparently only able to say the angel's name, and nothing more.

In Gohan's arms, Pan suddenly starts wailing, causing Gohan busy himself with calming her down. Goten, is the one who, after powering down, does what his father and brother are not doing; shaking Whis' arm.

'Bring her back,' Goten cries to Whis. 'I want her back.'

'Whis…' Goku verbally weeps again.

'I want my Mommy back,' Goten tugs on Whis even harder, seemingly finishing the words his father can't say. _'Bring her back._ '

It's out of place that he would think something like this, but were it at another time, the sight of Goku saying Whis' name with torn heartiness, and Goten insistently tugging on Whis' arm with tears running down his face, would've been a precious scene.

It's not, though. It's not a precious scene. It's actually hurtful to see. It's painful to see how broken Goku looks, and to hear Pan crying that loud, and then to see Goten beg and plead for Whis' help.

'Whis...' Goku continues to say the name in the same manner as before.

Suddenly, beginning at his feet, Whis starts to fade in what seems like an unprepared breath. Between his starting to fade, and him completely vanishing, there's hardly any time to prepare for what's to come, because it happens _that_ speedily. And while they all realise it as quickly as it happens, none of them are prepared for it. Not Ox King on the ground, watching them up there. Not Goten, whose hand limply drops down, now that it has nothing to hold on to. And definitely not Goku, who dejectedly loses the red of his hair and eyes.

'WHIS!' Goku horrifically erupts in a scream that takes the breath right out his lungs afterwards.

That one sound, that one syllable, that one name screamed by Goku, is probably the most murderous sound Ox King has ever heard in his entire life, because, oh, the way that scream kills him…

* * *

Chapter 25, **My Heart Is Broken.**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25, **My Heart Is Broken.**

* * *

As though his outcry for Whis is the firmly woven pattern of threads, that is keeping his soul secured inside his body, it viciously snags from his lungs. It does that, his cry, to open a clean way for his soul to break free, in the wake of what just happened. Like one threaded stitch finely tearing the next stitch, his scream allows for his soul to painfully push through his cage of his ribcage for an escape. It's such offending pain to feel his soul escape from him that way, that he immediately stops his cry out.

He quickly learns, although, that bringing his outcry to end, doesn't do anything to return his soul back to him, more than it just creates an unbearably loud and absolute silence.

It's too quiet, he hears, it's just too quiet. It's uncomfortably quiet like the whole universe clearly heard how his soul painfully pushed to escape through his ribcage, that it is taking a desolate moment of silence _especially_ , to sympathise with him. He hates the surrounding silence so much. He hates the way that it's loudly accentuating the universal sympathy, because it doesn't mean anything to him. No, sympathy will _not_ get him his wife back, so he has no use for it. He does not want to keep hearing it.

'Whis...' he forces the emotional whisper out of his mouth.

'Goku,' he hears someone say. 'Whis is gone.'

He knows that, his heart painfully clenches in response.

If he didn't know and feel that, he wouldn't feel the his shredded soul bleeding its pain into his heart. If he didn't know and feel that, he wouldn't feel such strong hatred for the silence that had been. If he didn't know and feel that, he wouldn't have that feeling of so badly wanting to die, more than anything in the world, but knowing that he has to resist the urge to die, which is unbelievably one of the most unbearable pains that he has ever known.

He didn't say Whis' name to call out for him, or because he doesn't know what Whis' disappearance means. He said it as a way of getting rid of the sympathetic silence, which the whole universe had been giving to him.

'If Whis is gone,' a small sobbing voice says, 'who will bring Mommy back? I want my Mommy back.'

That's Goten. That broken voice, speaking those broken words, is Goten's. Acknowledging this, he wills himself with as much strength as he doesn't have, to look at Goten.

He can't begin to identify with Goten's feelings as a child, but that broken look on his face, and the tears shining in his eyes, are easily the more damaging of things that Goku could've seen in the aftermath. The random nature of Chi-Chi disappearing, clearly left all of them who matter, feeling degrees of helpless, and Goten is not excluded. He only wishes that he had room in his tightly-pressed-by-loss heart, to offer the little one some type of comfort, because he can't continue to see something so harmful. The problem is that, even for a minimal attempt, he doesn't believe that he can get himself to speak his son's name.

He opens his mouth to try, at least that, but all that comes out is congested air. Had it not been for Trunks coming forward then, and softly putting his hand on Goten's shoulder, Goku doesn't know what he would've done.

'It's okay, Goten,' Trunks uses a comforting voice. 'Your mom's just dead. We'll get the Dragon Balls and bring her back. Just you and me. We'll get my mom's radar, and then summon Shenron to bring your mom back.'

Wrong, Goku feels his heart clench again, doing it harder this time.

He shifts his eyes to look at Trunks, just to think that what Trunks is suggestion, is completely wrong, because there's an unmistakable difference between what happened to Chi-Chi, and death. It pains him to even consider the thought, it makes his throat feel like steel on each side, and his body lightly quiver disgust with too, but he would rather that she had died, than gone through what happened to her. Had it been death that took her from him, it would've been way better, because;

Death, Dende can deal with.

Death, Shenron can ignore.

Death, Porunga can remedy.

Death, even _he'd_ only need a radar and ten minutes at most, to get around.

What happened to Chi-Chi, though, as gashing as it is to remember, is not something that Shenron, Dende, or anyone and anything from the Namekian planet, can help with.

'Don't give the boy false hope, Trunks,' Vegeta sternly says. 'His mother was destroyed. The Dragon Balls would be useless to bring her back.'

Usually, under normal circumstances, where it was anything else other than his wife destroyed, he would've lightly scolded for saying something so bluntly. Now, however, he strangely appreciates the blunt honesty in Vegeta's words. He doesn't want anyone thinking that he simply screamed Whis' name, because he felt helpless himself to do anything to bring his wife back.

'But she's my Mommy,' Goten cries out, making Goku look at him again. 'I want her back.'

'I know Goten,' Bulma sympathetically replies, coming from the one side to kneel at Goten's feet. 'There's always the Super Dragon Balls,' she suggests, touching the other shoulder that Trunks isn't. 'We can use those to bring your mommy back, okay?'

Goten apparently believes her, the way that he quickly asks, 'Really?'

Bulma nods, 'I promise.'

Vain promise, he painfully admits to himself.

He would've liked, oh so much, for that to have been true. The Super Dragon Balls, the reason that he gets his wife back, the reason that he stops feeling provoked to giving up his own life, just to stop feeling like this. The idea seems soothing, even to fantasise about, but the reality is that the Super Dragon Balls, cannot be used. Bulma just made a hollow promise to a boy who shouldn't be given hope to live on in _that_ way, and this is why;

'Black,' he hollowly speaks the name.

For the way that's dying inside, he can't even make his immense hatred for that one, sound in the spoken name, except, it's singularly enough to produce stifling silence around him again, but only for a moment, as Vegeta is the one who breaks it.

'We can't use those either,' he tells them all. 'The Super Dragon Balls also need a year to reactivate after what Black did.'

Silence falls around them all over again, but oddly, he hears loudly, all the ways that he doesn't have available to bring Chi-Chi back. That is, until someone –he's not sure who- mentions something that opens a universe of hope for him.

'What about what Black used to travel? What about the time rings?'

The time rings themselves, he couldn't care less about, but where they are located, means everything to him at the moment. That is why he doesn't spare another second to search out Supreme Kai's energy, before disappearing from here, to there.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

'Gok-' the small Supreme Kai starts upon seeing him, but Goku abruptly holds up his hand to stop him from apologising, or whatever else he may have in mind.

'Supreme Kai,' he dryly says, 'I need a favour.'

His delivery, just as it was, is perfect that way, because if he was here for an adventure, he would do something courteous and kind like greet the Kai, and then maybe laugh around for a little bit. He deems his speech delivery perfect, since he doesn't want to be mistaken for a man who has the time to drag out an adventure. He doesn't have that; not time, and definitely not a will for an adventure. In short, he doesn't have the time to be anything _less than_ in an urgent hurry.

'Of course,' Supreme Kai solemnly nods, proving that he's aware of what's going on. 'It's a time ring, isn't it?'

No, not those he frowns without verbally expressing the refusal aloud. Why would he want those? At the time that it was suggested back on Earth, he immediately knew that it couldn't work to use the tie rings. Although he could use them to get _a_ Chi-Chi to his current timeline, it will only mean that he would be going to the past, to steal a Chi-Chi from a version of himself. He would then be leaving himself without a wife, which would just as equally break his heart in that past, so he really has no use for the time rings.

'I need you to take me to Zeno,' he corrects the small god.

Visibly shocked, Supreme Kai asks, 'His Highness, Zeno?'

'I need to talk to him,' Goku confirms, mentally reasoning that if anyone can help him it's Zeno.

Supreme Kai firstly looks him up and down, and then only wonders, 'You want to see him dressed like that?'

'I don't care,' Goku shrugs to indicate that he means it, but Supreme Kai doesn't accept it like that.

'I'm sorry, Goku,' he shakes his head. 'I cannot take you to him looking like that. It's bad enough to show up without an invitation, but you looking like that, is unacceptable.'

Fine.

If he must, Supreme Kai being as fearfully cautious as he is, he can have that one thing, but nothing more. Goku has already tucked his feelings in a place where they don't distract him from finding a solution, he doesn't want to have to do something else that's uncomfortable too. This dressing up in proper clothing, is the last thing that he will do, nothing else.

'Then hurry up,' he gives Supreme Kai the permission to go ahead.

Taking the permission, Supreme Kai readily stretches out his hand towards Goku, and his usual orange and blue uniform appears on his body, right down to the usual boots on his feet. It instantly, physical comfort surrounds his entire body, for being in something familiar and beloved. He thought that Supreme Kai would dress him in something formal, not his uniform. He wouldn't have liked it the other way, he thinks, although, being in these clothes...

Chi-Chi has a collection of uniforms just like this one for him at home, and him wearing it now...

This is painful, he realises as his eyes roam around the uniform covering his body. It feels wonderfully comfortable for his body to be in something that it is used to, not that baseball uniform from before, but for his heart, it's unevenly painful, that he wishes to tear his uniform off. Seeing as Chi-Chi is no longer with him, he doesn't appreciate the reminder of how well she took care of his clothes, better than even he did himself.

'I guess we should be going then,' Supreme Kai says, interrupting his thoughts.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

When they suddenly appear on Zeno's planet, Grand Priest comes out to meet them, a polite smile on his face, appearing like he had been waiting for them to show up.

'Well, well,' Grand Priest calmly welcomes, 'if it isn't Son Goku and Universe 7's Supreme Kai.'

'Grand Priest,' Supreme Kai bows at the other short blue deity. 'It is an honour.'

'I'd like to see Zeno, please,' Goku gets right to the point, on his speaking turn.

Really, he doesn't want anyone thinking that he has time to spare, or that he can entertain some niceties and pleasantries. He wants it clear from the start, what he wants.

'Very well,' Grand Priest says to him. 'Follow me.'

Following that, Grand Priest begins to walk to the real entrance of the palace, and they silently follow behind him. Goku wishes that they could just transmit to Zeno, instead of walking there. He thought that he had made it clear that he doesn't want to beat around the bush... He doesn't think that these people understand that pain is an all consuming thing, which spares no mercy for anyone, matter who it is. He doesn't think that these gods here understand that pain doesn't conform to laws of everyday life, neither does it consider anything that is supposed to be courteous. If they understood that, Grand Priest would've already had them in Zeno's presence.

Once –eventually- they approach both of Zeno's high chairs, for the second time since someone mentioned the thing about the time ring, Goku feels a wave of hope curl around him. Having a visual of the two gods, makes him feel so much more positive about getting his wife back. Zeno, in a way that the other gods aren't, is his friend. And what he knows, is that friends always help out their friends, no matter what it takes. He never thought that he would get to a point of thinking like this in his life, because whenever he did something for his friends, it wasn't with the reasoning of them doing him a favour in return, or expecting the same from him.

And yet, here he is, thinking that Zeno would grant him a favour, simply because they are friends.

Even though he had just been thinking that they are friends, it didn't occur to him that both Zeno from the present and the future, would react excitedly for seeing him. So when they both leave their chairs to meet him before he reaches their chairs, exclaiming his name with childlike expectation, he feels himself come to an abrupt stop with his feet, as his face takes on a frown. In a time like this one, no one should be happy to see him. Zeno is excited to see him, asking if he came over to play with them, but he only shakes his head.

'Zeno,' he stops both of them from asking him any questions, possibly about him being here to play. 'I need your help. I need my wife back.'

Taken aback, either by his lack of lively energy, or his short manner of speaking, the two identical gods look at each with question on their faces, asking, 'Wife?'

They then look at Grand Priest with the same questioning expression. He is about to answer that yes, that is what he said, when they unanimously ask Grand Priest a question.

'Is Goku's wife here?'

'No,' Grand Priest shakes his head, but with slight amusement.

'She was destroyed,' he decides to tell them, so as not to waste any more time.

They are gods, they must already know that, but still, he just needs it to be clear. He may not be acting like it, because he has his feelings tucked in, but he desperately doesn't have the time to keep important information, for an opportune time.

'I need her back,' Goku emphasises for both Zenos to realise that he is not joking around.

'Goku,' it's Grand Priest who calmly starts, since the Zeno are only staring at him, as if they are unsure of where they fit into that line, 'don't you think that if His Highness Zeno was able to create, and recreate, he'd be living in the world of his choice, doing the things of his choice, and spending his time in the way of his choice?'

He's not serious!

Why in the hell put someone with only the power of destruction in charge of the council? Who had been doing the thinking at the time that it was decided that Zeno should be the leader of the council of Destruction gods, when he has no power to repair what he could possibly destroy?

Just what in the hell, right now?!

His heartbeat is actually rising in dangerous spikes, but he ignores that to explain the urgency of his situation.

'I just need my wife back, Grand Priest. Can _you_ help me, then?'

Fine, whatever, neither Zeno has the power of restoration, which makes them even more useless than Supreme Kai, but Grand Priest is Whis' father, and Whis has powers that Lord Beerus doesn't have. However, at his question, Grand Priest simply laughs. It's nothing like Whis' laugh, not secretly hiding something, and somewhat saying that he could be persuaded, rather, Grand Priest's laugh is straightforwardly telling him that no, he will do no such a thing, despite the way his eyes close with the laugh, as though to say that it's one of mirth.

'Son Goku,' he says after briefly clearing the laugh from his throat, 'there is an order in place here. This order, it makes sure that humans like you, do not directly have access to the destruction gods of any universe, much less, His Highness Zeno. You are an exception, Son Goku, solely because you are Zeno's friend. However, do _not_ for a moment think that I would bend over the rules in place, simply to accommodate _you_.'

Is he serious? What?

'You are surely not the first man in the universes to lose his wife,' Grand Priest tells him with no trace of shame. 'Men before you have gone through it, and they continued with their lives. What makes you so special, that you cannot live the rest of your life without your wife?'

This Grand Priest, Goku barely manages to breathe properly while thinking this, is a very honest and unreasoning man. He seems to believe in everything that he is saying, and it looks like he will not break from his decision. Goku resents that about him, he truly does, so much that he would rather turn his head away from the angel, but for Chi-Chi, he has to endure this rejection, and ask for a point in the right direction.

'If you can't help me, then who can?' he wants to know.

He doesn't care for Grand Priest's words about him not being special, that he can't live without Chi-Chi. Other men have probably never had the livelihood of the world on their shoulders, and thus, never depended on their wives' existences to feel motivated enough, to push through the barriers that kept them in defeat. Not only that, but without Chi-Chi, where in the universe would he be?

'In the Antechamber,' Grand Priest calmly tells him. 'The latest addition in there, but remember that if he cannot help you, do not return here. I will do absolutely nothing to help you.'

Goku, and this he swears on Chi-Chi's lost life, will remember those calm words of refusing rejection. He really will. For as long as his body is alive, he will remember those words from Grand Priest. They hit him too hard, for him not to remember them.

'If he can't help me,' he just as calmly says, staring Grand Priest down, 'then I'm not forgiving anyone. _No one_.'

'As you will,' Grand Priest shrugs, a nonchalant smile on his face, just before making a small gesture with his finger, and Goku feels himself being sucked into something.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

When he stops feeling like he's being sucked into something, all of his senses come back to him, sight especially. His eyes are the first to realise his surroundings, and oddly, he feels a little relieved to view how different they are different from Zeno's place. If was ever told to, maybe in another world where he didn't have a life on Earth, he wouldn't refuse to live here. He can't explain how, but there's an ambience of comfort around, precisely like the ambience is meant for the broken ones.

Is this the Antechamber? He asks himself, while his eyes roam around the faded colours of blue, pink and white that blend into each other, where no one would be able to point where the one colour begins, and the previous ends. He is usually not one for details such as decor, but like he can't explain why he feels a small sense of comfort being here, he also can't explain what's drawing his eyes to take the details of his surroundings in.

The pink furniture arranged in a circle. The way this place doesn't seem to have a ceiling, when his eyes look up. The long table with snacks just behind the furniture. The-

'Welcome,' a soothingly smooth voice interrupts his looking around.

To find the owner of the voice, Goku rotates his head away from his view, until his eyes land on someone, the only other person, in the room with him.

'Hallo,' he greets, only because she looks pleasant, reminding him of Whis.

Again, he wouldn't usually care about the appearance of someone, except, there is something about her, that stands out.

He can't decide if it's her shortly cut hair (even shorter than Bulma), or the peculiar way more hair seems to fall on the one side, which gives the other side a shaven look, or how differently she is dressed from all the angels that he has seen, that is making him pay attention to her appearance. Or simply, if it's the blue ring of a halo, which is hovering over her head, not around her neck, or behind her head, like Grand Priest's, that's making him pay attention to her appearance. He only knows that from her deep blue gown of a robe, to the dark linings around both of her eyes, much like Supreme Kai, he's taking her appearance in. It's only that he doesn't have the time to file it away, one detail by one; instead, he'll just capture her as a whole for now.

'Who are you?' he wants to know after being awed by her appearance.

Immediately smiling at him, her white teeth showing, she politely bows her head, performs an endearing courtesy, opening her mouth to introduce herself only after she has rectified herself to an upright position.

'Grand Curator, at your service,' she softly tells him, gently clasping her hands just below her chest. 'I'm responsible for the Antechamber, and if my husband sent you, then you must be here for one of the indisposed angels.'

Husband?

He can't contain his surprise at the news. He can, of course, stop himself from blurting out his surprise, but within him, his shock rings all over his body. Grand Priest has a wife? And he doesn't want Goku to get his wife back? What does that make Grand Priest?

No wonder, though, Goku thinks, his eyes travelling to one of the two ribbon-like belts around somewhere above her waist. She has an insignia just like the one on Grand Priest's belt, only, instead of that star-like shape having the same five arms as Grand Priest's, her golden one, has six arms. It doesn't surprise him that this person, who clearly has some Whis in her, and is just a measurement taller than Grand Priest, is the wife to the Grand Priest.

'Who is it that you are looking for?' she asks him, when she sees that he didn't reply.

Bringing his eyes back to her face, he answers with a sombre, 'I don't know who it is. Grand Priest only said the latest addition can help me. I don't know who that is. Is that you?'

'No,' she smiles while shaking her head, 'but I will take you to him. If you would follow me, please.'

In the direction that he hadn't gotten the chance to look at, they walk, her in front of him, as she is leading the way. While he would like to look on the sides, to look around this strangely relieving ambience, he decides that keeping his focus is the best thing for him. He didn't come here to wonder about Grand Curator, or even explore this Antechamber of hers. What he came for, is someone, probably an angel, who can help him get his wife back, and that is all that he is going to be concentrating on from now on.

'It's very rarely that we get humans here,' she says in front of him. 'You are in fact the third that we have ever had. I imagine that you would like to recover your world, which was taken from you, is it not? That's always the case.'

How she's using the word 'world,' and to him, it's completely different to what she means, he feels the urge to explain just how that word is the exact way that he feels, only, her voice is so full of solace, that he doesn't bother correcting her. He only follows behind her in silence, while she continues to speak.

'My dear, listen to me...' she sounds like it hurts her to say whatever she is about to. 'I do not advice you to get your hopes up. I would very much like that you get what is rightfully yours, but that may not be the outcome. You have to know that.'

After that, she suddenly turns around to him, and their eyes make contact. In her eyes, he reads a sympathy that he has never seen on anyone in his life before. The odd thing is, however, that unlike that sympathy of silence that he didn't want from the universe, hers, he doesn't mind see. In fact, he feels rather pulled in, to receive it.

'You see,' she picks up her talking again, 'there are rules of protocol, and for my husband to send you here, is only to show you that rules are in place for a reason. You probably don't know this, but an indisposed angel is stripped of all their powers for a reason, when their god of destruction dies.'

So, he wonders, can this latest addition, angel or not, help him or not? That's all he cares to know. Not the history of angels, and their capabilities.

'You've seen the rings around their necks?' she asks, but doesn't seem to be expecting him to answer it. 'Those are a sign of servitude. However, they are also an indication that each living and talking being, no matter the rank, is capable of attachment. That's specifically the way of angels, but we are no different to other beings. Yes, we have the power of creation and destruction in our hands, but as well, we have the power of emotion. Even with angels, when attachments are broken, there's no telling what an impulsive action could do. That is why they lose their servitude symbols, and along with that, their more important powers.'

'So...' he looks at her, considering his words carefully, because he doesn't want the possibility of those words to crush him.

Her eyes remain on him, patiently that way, and something about that, makes his tucked away feelings, shake for freedom a little bit.

'This angel has no power?' he completes, immediately holding his breath to prepare for the answer.

'The ways of angels are not as straightforward as you would expect, ' is her first answer, before she moves on to answer his direct question. 'He doesn't have the sort of power that could help you, no. He could talk to you, perhaps for some closure, but more than that, I am afraid not.'

In his head, or maybe it's really in his heart, her answer, is exactly like a mountain made of tough steel, that just erected in front of him, blocking his way to the other side. Seeing that in his head, or maybe in his heart, he can't do anything to stop a long sigh of defeat from leaving him. Along with that long sigh, a strangled sob from his chest erupts, only, in a deathly silent away.

 _Aaah_... The way that feels... He swears... He'll go crazy before he dies of it.

With her eyes full of concern, she questions for him to say something, because his silence doesn't speak well of him. 'Dear?'

What does she want to hear from him? What do those concerned eyes of hers, want to see within his, that she's prompting him to say something? Is it not enough that he's here, going from person to person, asking for help that he cannot get himself? What more does she want from him?

'What...?' he attempts to ask that of her, only, it comes out a broken squeal.

Does she want him to tear his clothes apart, plunge a hand through his chest, and show her his shredded heart? Is that what she wants to see? Does she want for him to spill the tears that he is keeping at the bottom of his gut, because he's too afraid that they won't stop if he allows them out? Just what does she want from him?

'What do you want to know, dear?' she sympathetically makes a prompt of her own.

Instead of giving her a verbal answer, Goku roughly reaches for one of her hands, and places it over his heart, trying to show her just what he can't endure. He keeps his hand firmly pressed over hers, so that she doesn't make it escape the picture that he's trying to show her; a life without knowing that his Chi-Chi is back at home. Praying for him. Waiting for him. And loving him that way.

'What am I going to do,' he whispers through a quivering voice, 'if he doesn't help me?'

Grand Curator looks at him, with the appearance of someone who has the ability to absorb emotions, and make them a part of her in a deep way, that they clearly express on her. He swears, he feels like he's looking at a mirror, and she is his reflection. Her sad eyes, the pain on her face, and just now, her lifting her free hand to gently touch the side of her face, is like she understands exactly, the pain within him, and his urgency to get his wife back.

'Well, what is there to do, dear?' she sadly asks him.

Beyond not forgiving anyone, he doesn't know. If he knew what he'd do, he wouldn't be asking _her_.

'I don't know,' he weakly answers, shifting his eyes to look down between them. 'You tell me.'

He's ready to cry. He wants to bring his free hand to hold onto the wrist of the hand that is on the side of his face too, but probably, that would be too much. Mostly, he just feels ready to let out all of his tears. If she gives him the permission to, he'll really just cry, because he doesn't know what else to do. It's not that he needs her permission to cry, but in this moment right here, she makes him feel listened to and understood like nobody did before her. So in a way, he feels that he needs only a little of her permission, to dump more of his brokenness on her.

'Look at me,' she urges through softly tapping the tips of her fingers on his cheek.

Slowly, he makes his eyes travel back to hers, and when his eyes meet hers, she gives him the saddest of smiles, to say, 'You cope, my dear. That's all there is to do, I suppose.'

Feeling choked by something that he can't see or touch, he barely handles to speak his sorrowful complaint, 'That's not fair.'

'No, it's not,' she quietly agrees. 'I'm sorry, my dear. I'll still send you over to my angel, but I truly am sorry for you.'

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

He isn't all that sure what he expected to be transported to, he only knows that he hadn't been expecting to find the one that he does, with his back turned at the window. If there had been clues from either Grand Priest, or Grand Curator that Whis would be the angel that he would be sent to, he completely missed to recognise them. Nonetheless, now that he's here, he doesn't care for anything other than talking to Whis. Nothing about the change from his usual attire, and nothing about the missing ring of servitude around his neck, interests Goku at all. He's feeling down to his last breath, and nothing else matters to him more than finding even a small way to get his wife back.

'I need her back,' he announces right away.

'I can't help you,' Whis replies, his voice nothing like it usually sounds. 'I'm sorry, Goku,'

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Whis is still facing the other way, but the quiet interest that's always been in Whis' voice, is gone, and so is the soothing kindness. All that his voice sounds like now, is a raspy shadow of the effects of a bad cough. It's something disheartening to hear Whis sound like that, when he's supposed to be the only hope Goku has.

'There _must_ be something that you can do,' he imploringly begs Whis.

He's heard it before. Everyone before now, told him that Whis couldn't help him. Grand Curator even said that Whis' powers are not what they used to be, because Lord Beerus died, but _he_ just can't not plead with the greatest angel that he has ever known. Whis is Whis, for the love of Chi-Chi, he can do anything. There has to, has to be something, no matter how small, that he can do. There just has to be.

Turning around to face him then, Whis asks, 'Do you want to know where I was?'

Goku only gives him a long look. He knows that he initially didn't care to be interested by anything else, except... Whis, his eyes... They look dull, somehow even paler than his complexion. He's not himself. He's almost unrecognisable without the patiently waiting expression on his face.

'Don't you want to know what I was doing?' Whis asks him another question.

Again, Goku only continues to look at Whis, wondering if all of the repressed feelings that he is keeping safe inside, are blinding him to see another picture than the one that is usually Whis, his teacher.

'Don't you want to know why I couldn't protect her?' Whis asks a third time.

That, particularly about protecting Chi-Chi, sharply stings his open heart like vinegar on a fresh cut. He can't get into _that_ with Whis right now, not when he, Goku himself, couldn't protect Chi-Chi. The subject of protecting Chi-Chi, is as sensitive as it is volatile to him. He'd had his insecurities about the fact that Whis could ultimately protect Chi-Chi when he couldn't, but that wouldn't be relevant here anyway.

'I never gave you the responsibility of protecting her, Whis,' he partly snaps. 'I didn't ever expect you to protect her, so I don't care where you were. I just want you to do something about it.'

'I can't,' Whis sadly shakes his head. 'You killed Lord Beerus.'

That should sound like an accusation, Goku thinks, it really should, only, it doesn't. If anything, it just sounds like a fact that can't be proven false. Still, hearing Whis remind him of what he did, and piecing together how he's also contributed to the current difficulty of getting Chi-Chi back, makes him say his next words.

'I'm sorry about that.'

And he really is, because unlike with Black, when he'd hesitate for the sake of his morality, to kill someone, much more, kill someone with his own body, with Lord Beerus, it had been about doing what _he'd_ done to Chi-Chi. At the time, Goku didn't want Lord Beerus to suffer, he just, from the depth of his soul, wanted him gone, like Chi-Chi was. He hadn't thought of the consequences of his actions afterwards. But now, he's sorry only because he doesn't have Chi-Chi.

'I'm partly to blame for that as well,' Whis apologetically tells him. 'Everything caught me by surprise, and I broke his core without meaning to. Had it not been for that, he would still be here, and I would've been able to turn back time for you.'

'There must be something that you can do, Whis,' Goku weakly repeats.

Damn it! He doesn't want to keep hearing the same thing over, and over. He wants to hear something positive, something else.

'Not unless you become the god of Destruction, which you won't,' Whis responds, shaking his head to help set that in.

Him?

Who he is?

A god of destruction for Chi-Chi's sake?

'Will she be with me?' is the first thing that he wants to know.

On that condition fulfilled, he will do it. He's already sure that he won't like the god business, but for Chi-Chi, he will become one. No questions asked, and no bleak atmosphere between them, and the concealed feelings that both of them are not expressing, is starting to get to him.

'No,' Whis clearly states. 'There are rules of conduct in place concerning these things. I'm sure that both my father and mother spoke of that to you. You wouldn't be here otherwise, if they didn't want to prove it to you.'

Ooh... There's his answer. And there's his last resort blending in with the air around them, that he can't tell it apart anymore. The silently torturous pain that it resurrects, though... From places that he didn't even know could hurt like that. Just the pain that it produces... He feels like he is turning extremely numb, unable to-

'I'm sorry about Chi-Chi, Goku,' Whis breaks through his thoughts about his feelings.

Aha, he mentally scoffs, wondering at the same time if his scoff of disbelief is showing on his face. Just what does he say to that?

Strangely, he can sense that Whis is just like him, concealing his true feelings, but no, he can't tell Whis that it's okay, because it's not okay. Also, the apology won't magically make his wife re-appear, so he can't thank Whis for the apology either.

'She was my first friend,' Whis says something else.

Whis mentioning that, Goku begins to realise that Whis didn't just lose Lord Beerus, he also lost his first ever friend, which Goku hadn't thought of that way.

'I'm sorry about Lord Beerus,' he gives another apology. 'I know that it was only an accident, but he still destroyed my Chi-Chi.'

Slowing nodding, Whis agrees with him, 'It _was_ an accident. He wanted me to tell you that. He didn't mean to do it. He would've never done that to you, had it not been for my sister and Lord Champa showing up so suddenly.'

Lord Champa... His sister...

Of course!

Life immediately starts to flow through his numb body. He can't believe that he didn't think of it before. Lord Champa has a Whis of his own, and that other Whis, can undo the changes that happened. For someone who's only had the one track mind of getting his wife back, he can't believe himself for not considering Lord Champa and his female Whis.

'Your sister,' he speedily brings up, finding the strength to get closer to Whis. 'Can she help? She's just like you, isn't she?'

At first, Whis only raises his hand, makes as though he is cupping the air, and then produces a small purple ball, the colour of his eyes, in the palm of his hand. The point behind that, Goku couldn't be bothered to know, but there is one thing that he needs an answer to, and he needs that answer as they stand here.

'Whis,' he urgently prompts, which makes Whis return his attention.

'My father sent you here, didn't he?' Whis questions with a sigh, as if the subject suddenly changed.

Slightly irritated, Goku steps closer to Whis, asking, 'What about him?'

What does that one have to do with Vados? Please, please, please, Whis should not tell him something about Grand Priest not allowing the Universe 6 angel, to help out in matters of Universe 7. Please, just... Whis shouldn't say something like that. He should better keep quiet if that's the case.

'Vados is just like him,' Whis, suddenly looking saddened, begins to explain. 'I once told Chi-Chi this, but my sister is very blunt. She only does things that are in her own interest to do. As an active angel, she has a world of rights at her disposal, and she takes advantage of that. I suppose that is largely why it mostly annoys me to be in her presence.'

Ugh! Goku mentally complains.

For goodness sake, why does everyone feel the need to tell him about things that he has no interest in today? He doesn't have the time. This isn't an adventure where he needs to gather as much information and gold as possible. This is a time pressed desperate act, to get his wife back, and he just wants it over as soon as he can take the next breath.

'Can she turn back time, or not?' he bluntly poses to Whis. 'Can she get me Chi-Chi back?'

'She can do more than just rewind time,' sadly comes from Whis' mouth. 'However, she still needs the permission, direct or indirect, of Lord Champa. That's the nature of an angel's relationship with a god. Just know that she is very good at manipulating Lord Champa, so if it doesn't suit her to help you, she simply won't do it.'

'If she doesn't want to help me?' he wants to know.

Never mind that neither Grand Curator, or Grand Priest informed him of the option of Vados, he only wants to hear if he has the added options of the other angels too.

'You cannot be a god of Destruction, Goku,' Whis tells him, and then goes back to the dull ball in the palm of his hand.

That's nothing close to what Goku had been hoping to hear, but if Whis only mentioned that bit about the Destruction god as the alternative, then those rules that everyone has been telling him about, must run deeper than he can imagine. Vados, probably is available to help him, because she had a part in the mess, or maybe, only because she is Whis' sister, while Lord Champa is Lord Beerus' brother.

'I don't even want to be the Destruction god,' he refuses the offer, since without Chi-Chi, it's pointless to him.

Nodding, Whis whispers, 'I know,' and then there's just silence between them.

On his side, Goku feels like there's just nothing left to say to Whis. They've spoken to each other, and he doesn't blame Whis for what happened to Chi-Chi. However, like he told Grand Priest, if he doesn't get Chi-Chi back, he's not going to be doing any forgiving towards anyone. He'll instead used those feelings of hatred to grow stronger, way beyond any angel could reach, and then...

'Goku...' Whis softly calls for him, and Goku looks at him without answering. 'My heart is broken too,' Whis spiritlessly confesses, just as the ball in his palm dies out.

Oh, wow.

Goku hadn't realised, not really, but now, now he knows it. He's seen it, in fact, it's only that he has no response to that. He already said his apologies for what happened to Lord Beerus, so there's no other response to give. He turns around to leave instead.

'I have patience enough to wait a million years for a new god, if I have to,' Whis says to his back, making him falter in the step that he had been making to take. 'I don't mind the training time that I will have in the meantime either. But...' Whis audibly sighs, 'living with how I couldn't save my friend, and helped destroy my lord...'

They all have their burdens to bear, Goku silently sympathises with Whis. He's like it if he could say something to comfort the angel, because he knows exactly what it's like to feel like there's no hope, while stuck in the abyss of self-blame, but he has never been good at the consoling parts. Chi-Chi has always been the expert in such cases, not him. She would've known how to comfort her friend, he believes.

'How do I find Vados?' he finally settles on asking after dismissing any other idea of consoling his teacher.

'My mother will take you to her.'

'Thank you,' softly and automatically comes out of Goku's mouth just as he begins to take his first step away from Whis.

* * *

Chapter 26, **Mystery Of You.**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26, **Mystery Of You.**

* * *

Immediately, he notices the difference, and he _hates_ it. From Whis in the perfectly beautiful room, surrounded by a soothing ambience, to his mother in the place where he first met her, Goku strongly feels the difference once he and Grand Curator suddenly appear before Vados. Inexplicably, upon finding Vados carelessly swinging her long legs back and forth, while she is seated on the branch of a tree, Goku feels a special sort of anger for her.

He can't decide if he feels this way, because he just left a soothing, somewhat hope-inspiring place, for a bleak looking planet, inspiring of loss and misery, or because she's sitting there on that branch, looking to be in a good mood, when she clearly shouldn't be. The only thing that he is decided on concerning her, is that being here, seeing her at all, is bothering him, and causing a deep hole of despair inside of him, that he doesn't need.

'Vados, dear,' Grand Curator's soft voice tries for her attention, 'I brought you someone.'

Grand Curator is just perfection, Goku silently appreciates, because the sound of her calming voice makes him briefly forget how he feels about being here, and seeing Vados looking like that.

It won't do him any good to wonder, but still, he can't help it wonder what it would've been like, if Grand Curator had simply sent him here by himself, instead of coming with him. He especially can't help it wonder that, when Vados does nothing to immediately recognise that her own mother just spoke to her. Apparently, after swinging her legs without a care in the world, pulling out her staff in front of her, to study the dark crystal of it with keen interest, is the most important thing . She evidently can't be bothered to give attention to anyone not directly in line with what she wants for herself.

He swears (and his heart is sinking just to admit this), Vados is planting a forest of despair, which will he will get lost in, if he's not careful.

'Vados!' he hoarsely pushes her name out of his mouth, to get her complete attention.

Either the sound of her name, or the tone of his voice does what he meant it to, because after speaking, Vados visibly reacts. Her reaction, is stilling completely. Her swinging legs stop before they can complete their current swing, her hands grip her staff tightly, as though for encouraging support, her eyes stay in position, not daring to dart here and there in inspection, but it's her pair of eyebrows that give life to the whole reaction. One eyebrow lifts a measurement higher than it had been, and the other eyebrow soon follows.

Good, he angrily thinks, she's paying attention now. As she should be. It's about time that she acknowledges their presence.

Slowly, after she lifts both of her eyebrows, she turns her face to him. Mentally prepared for that reaction, Goku prepares to stare her down, and show her that he's serious about being here, but she only spares him a look for less than a second, before gracefully sliding off the branch, and coming down to hover directly in front of him, and a little level from where his feet firmly stand.

'Who is it, Mother?' Vados asks looking directly at him, but then shifts her sight to Grand Curator.

Whatever she means by doing that, making like she's not talking to him, when she can clearly see him in front of her, he won't allow her to get away with. Whis already warned him that Vados is a difficult one to deal with. Now that he's had this experience with her, he can somehow conclude that his feelings of anger and despair around her, are the result of what he took in from Whis, but he won't allow any of that to overtake him. The most important thing here, is getting his wife back, and doing everything to keep Vados on that track, is what he must focus on.

'It's me, Goku,' he clearly announces, stepping closer to her too.

The eyes that had been looking at Grand Curator, carefully, in an unhurried way, return to him, but before they settle to meet with his, they swipe along his body, from his feet. Once their eyes meet, a small smirk breaks out of her face.

'The apprentice,' she says, almost like she's mocking him.

He starts to think that he is not that, when Vados beginning to circle him, takes the thought right of his head. From the corners of his eyes, he watches as she slowly rotates around him, studying every part of him with scrutiny, until she hits a point of satisfaction, which has her coming back to stand in front of him again. Without the small smirk from before, but even without it, everything about her behaviour, seems to say that she is making fun of him.

'The insecure apprentice, who feels extreme fear that my brother will take his wife from him,' she drawls, keeping unwavering contact with his eyes.

'Honestly, Vados,' Grand Curator says, 'do you always have to be so straightforward? Do you really believe that it would kill you, to be a little like your brother?'

In response, Vados snickers first, only then to proudly say, 'I have no need of being like Whis, Mother. He does that enough for both of us.'

'Just be nice, dear,' Grand Curator gently cautions her. 'The man has his own troubles, and you are the only one who can help him.'

'Mother…' Vados rolls her eyes, apparently unwilling to hear that, but Grand Curator refuses to allow her that.

'Vados,' she slightly scolds, 'You know very well that your father won't, and Whis can't. So I will leave him with you, all right?'

Waving a dismissive hand, Vados answers with, 'All right. Leave him.'

At least Vados is willing to hear him out, Goku thinks. The way in which Whis presented her to him, subliminally presetting a certain type of reception from her into his expectations, he had been expecting to hear her refuse him her help. He's relieved that what he thought would happen, did not, and maybe it has nothing to do with her, but he turns to Grand Curator for her part in convincing Vados to help him.

'Thank you,' he says to her.

She, in turn reaches out to take his hand and squeeze it. Anyone would think that she is passing some of her strength to him, the way that she is clutching his hand.

'I have to be going now, dear,' she tells him, her face wearing sympathy for adornment.

Like that, when she refuses to let go of his hand, and she looks at him as though she understood his pain from the beginning, understands his battling feelings of hope and despair, and will continue to understand his story even after he has left her presence, he would desperately rather that she stays. He feels like he needs her to stay with him, if only to hear her comforting voice at his darkest moment. When his darkest moment comes, and he's tempted to listen to the negative answers about getting his wife back, he'll need her here. But, he understands that she is already extending her hand more than ought to, which is why he nods to accept her leaving. As soon as he does, though, he regrets the choice, because like she was never there to begin with, Grand Curator disappears.

'Wait!' he cries in a hurried plea too late, to be heard by Grand Curator.

Vados on the other hand, _does_ hear him, but she doesn't seem to think of it as important, as she starts to circle him again, asking him the question that he's been waiting for.

'So…' she seems to test. 'What is it, that you want me to help you with?'

'I want-'

'Me to train you?' she interjects, incorrectly predicting words far from his mind.

'That's-'

'Forget it,' she cuts him off again.

Right then, her circling comes to a stop, closely bringing her side by side with him. If not for her height and her hovering, they would be shoulder to shoulder, only with her front towards his back, and his front towards her back.

'You wouldn't last a day with me,' she completes her previous statement, sounding like she takes absolute pride in that fact.

When spoken that way, Goku feels as though a direct attack just hit his pride, making him screw his face in disapproval, and consider asking her to try him, just so she can see how he always exceeds expectations. But no, he has to reel himself in, take the attack, and get his focus back onto getting Chi-Chi back.

'Vados,' he firmly states, 'I want you to bring my wife back, not train me.'

All of a sudden, Vados bursts out laughing. Because he has no facial visual of her, he can't be sure if she is making fun of him, or if she is shocked at the truth which he just shared with her. Either way, he has to look at her face, and make her see how serious and dedicated he is to this cause of getting Chi-Chi back. She can laugh at him, as loudly as she wants, and she can think of him as someone reaching, but at least, she should do it looking at his face, and into his eyes, to see the truth of his soul reflected there.

He takes at long step backwards, to be face to face with her, even going as far as to lift off his feet and hover at a level where their eyes are in the perfect sync of vision. She must not have expected that move from him, because she goes quiet, to look at him with interested wonder. He allows her the time to study him, hoping that she will reach the true conclusion that he is not wasting his time of joking around by being here.

'Do you know,' she finally says in serious tone, 'that Lord Champa is devastated, but he has too much pride to ask me to return his brother back to him?'

'I'm sorry about Lord Beerus,' he automatically mumbles.

He really is sorry about Lord Beerus, but it's just that he hadn't realised that anyone would be affected by Lord Beerus' disappearance. Only after speaking to Whis, did he realise that he is not the only one with the heavy burden of loss to live with.

'It doesn't matter,' she says dismissively, 'because I've been waiting for you to come here.'

She has? Considering how she has been acting since Grand Curator brought him here, to now, he doesn't have any reason to believe that she has interest in helping him at all. But she's apparently been waiting for him? That's a good thing, he supposes, because it raises his hope higher than before.

'Then please help me,' he softly begs her, softening his face to show some a little of his true emotions. 'I _need_ my wife back.'

'For my brother,' she softly begins, 'I would do it. For Lord Champa, I would also do it, but for you…' Trailing off, she makes her eyes run up and down his figure once, and then only continues to say, ' _You_ have no connection to me. I don't know anything about you, so it's only right that you _convince_ me to help you.'

'Convince you?'

Shock is not what he feels for asking that question, neither is it disbelief. It's rather his way of testing her words, to hear if the same consistency comes out of her mouth with the next answer.

'Yes,' she calmly nods. 'What do you say? We have a simple timed match. You and I. One on one. And the winner gets their wish fulfilled.'

Her consistency, yes, is unshakable, he sourly notes, however, that proposition, no, he _doesn't_ even have to _conside_ r thinking about. For him, in this situation especially, there's no such as thinking about something like that.

'No,' he immediately says.

It's simple, but not a joke. It's firm, but not a stall for time. It's his decision, and not a test for her. With determined depth, he means every syllable of that single syllable word.

'Oh?' Vados pulls her head back as though directly hit in the face by his answer. 'You _aren't_ willing to fight for your wife?'

Wrong.

'I'm not willing to lose her,' he clearly states. 'If I fight you and lose, that's me losing her. I'm not losing her.'

He's not stupid. He's not going to be tricked into losing his wife just like that, no. To him, there's a clear difference between choosing to agree to a match that will be over before it begins, and choosing to not lose, by declining participation in that match. He won't technically be winning by not having a match with Vados, but at least, he won't be directly choosing to lose either.

'How pessimistic, you are,' Vados pokes fun at him with a little laugh in her voice. 'Firstly, you already lost her, because you wouldn't be here otherwise. And secondly, you've never heard that nothing is impossible, apprentice? Isn't there power in love, according to your kind's sayings?'

'There's also loss in stupidity,' he quickly responds, refusing her tempting bait.

She doesn't know anything, Goku thinks while she digests his answer. She doesn't know anything about how hard it is for him to stand here, and refuse to make even a tiny _attempt_ to save his wife from the world of disappearance. More so harder for him, when she's spewing out tantalising notions like those to him, notions that are slowly leeching the will out of his heart, to weaken it to _her_ liking.

She really doesn't know anything, because while it's true that love does have power, and he can speak for that, what Vados doesn't know is that for the most part, most of his battles, he's always just fought using his _mere_ strength. For quite some years, he's known that deep emotions from his core, help fuel his Saiyan power, but he's always just used his strength as his go-to leader in battle. He's always chosen that route of combat, without emotions as motivation, _for a reason_.

'So…?' Vados tests after some time has passed, and she has apparently took in his words. 'You won't have a match with me?'

'I won't fight you, Vados,' is his final answer.

'You know…' leaves her mouth, 'My brother holds you in high esteem, and that must be for a reason, am I right? My brother may be a softy, but his tastes in people, are particular. He's a very hard one to impress, did you know that?'

Crossing his arms to show that he neither knew that, nor cares to find it out now, Goku tells her, 'Whis has nothing to do with this.'

'No,' she agrees, 'but I figured that you being his apprentice, there'd be something special to you. But you're nothing. Anyhow, have it your way, apprentice, _don't_ fight me.'

She encourages that last part in such a softly appealing tone, that for a scary second, he feels all of his muscles contract, while his eyeball threaten to pop out of their sockets. He reacts like that, because for that single second, it seems like Vados is going to turn her back on him, and leave him that way, alone, without a way to get his wife back. But all of a sudden, faster than he can think to stop her with a single word, a hard blow lands right in the middle of his face.

Smack!

The impact of the hit, is so much louder than the sound, which repeats in echoes several times over, almost like a rewind button is being pressed over and over, for the replay. As a result of the unexpected blow, since his body had only been prepared to freak out, that he'd lost his chance to save his wife, and not prepared to receive any type of physical damage, he's thrown all the way across the plane.

Upon landing, his bottom of his head and his back hit something hard, which is probably a mixture of aged metal and stone. He swears through the pain, that his back breaks in two, and really, he consequently only wants to let out a cry loud enough, to drain out every last tear that is inside his body, as soothing balm for his pain.

His need to let out that cry, though, is not only for the pain alone, but also for the thick combination of things that have happened so far;

How he couldn't save Chi-Chi. How he watched her disappear from the Earth. How he went looking for help, and no one helped him. How now, he's here with the one person who can actually help him, but she has no interest to. How just knowing that no power of the strength that he possesses, will bring his wife back to him. And all of that, added to the endless pain, makes him hang his head down against his will, and close his eyes to cry.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

When his eyes first open, he can't immediately make out where he is. It's not that he has difficulty focusing them, it's just that his brain hasn't yet caught up with what is going on around him. He takes in a long breath, trying to gather himself in a mental way, but that action, costs him the obliviousness from before. While taking in the long breath, extreme pain hits him; all down his back, also in his entire body, and when he tries to lift his head to steady himself, that too, hurts.

'Have a good rest?' a voice asks.

Again, he tries to lift his head, even having gone through the torturous pain just seconds before. He manages to lift it some way up, enough for his eyes to see the feet of the one speaking to him. At once, he recognises the shoes and the hem of the green robe, and that is when everything comes back to him, reminding him, that it's not only his head that hurts this time around.

Vados...

He knows where he is. He knows what that pressure on his back is. He knows why he's feeling so much pain. He knows why he didn't immediately remember anything. He knows why thinking of her name, makes his passageway constrict. Why his lungs succumb to a heavy weight, making it hard for him to breathe, and why his heart takes a sharply precise dagger to it. He knows why he feels like he's been here forever, completely beaten up, and heavily claustrophobic.

Vados…

'I have to say,' her voice continues, when he doesn't give her an answer, 'I don't know what my brother sees in you. You're not worth his time.'

Suddenly, before he can do anything like process her words, something like a hot metallic rod pokes his chest, causing him to jump away from where he is.

How he manages to push through the pain, to jump to his feet, he won't ever be able to say, but he can say that whatever she did to him, chilled too much through his skin right down to his bones, to leave him in the same position. Breathing heavily, he looks from her, to his feet, unable to understand why she would do this to him. He starts taking steps away from her, opening his mouth to ask her to please stop, because he can't take any more, but again, he feels another sharp poke on his body. It feels like it's his stomach, which takes the damage, but his whole body feels like it's feeling the ripples of effect.

Even as he tries to choke out breaths, to make the way clear for him to call out for help, there isn't a part of him left, that doesn't feel destroyed. Right now, his body doesn't feel at home in itself, that his mind is contemplating the idea of getting out of the house of his body. It's too painful in there. Inside his body, it's painful, to the point where he can't command it to let itself drop to the floor, and suffer his pain on safe ground. Whatever she did to him, he just wants to cry out as hysterically as he can. It would be some relief for him, he believes, just to let out the pain in that form of expression.

Just then, as he is fantasising for an outlet for relieve, he feels arms come around him with gentle firmness, and instantly, he launches his aching body into them, almost like he is falling into the arms. If he could, he would latch onto them as securely as possible, however, the pain is too much to allow him to hold back onto the support, than lean into it. Ah, the minimal relief that he feels to have physical support. He still feels the pain, but just feeling that he has someone to lean onto, someone who is offering their comfort in his most painful of moments, is wonderful.

Unfortunately for him, though, the relief is short-lived. The disruption in relief doesn't come from the arms themselves, the arms in fact make him feel a level of protection. It's rather a sentence of new words spoken to him, which has him instantly suffocating, and promptly pushing in a long jump to be away from their hold.

'You will never see her again,' the words keep dancing around his ears.

Those words do it for him. No, he doesn't have the strength to fight his physical pain, but just thinking that she put her arms around him, to comfort him for the fact that he will never see Chi-Chi again, erects all of him. His head lifts up, he forces his body to stand to some degree of upright, and his eyes, he sets on hers. He sees how so unbothered, calm, and lovely in appearance she looks, and although he understands that it's within the angels' nature to always appear well put together, Vados is something different.

'Vados, please,' he despairingly rasps, bubbling with fury for her at the same time, 'I only want her back.'

How quickly, yet quietly she giggles in response, covering her mouth with her hand as if to hide it, anyone would think that he made a joke. Not in the least bit, does he appreciate that about her. It builds up his fury, in fact.

'And I only want you to prove to me, how badly you want her back,' she reveals after her giggling ends. 'What else do you think I'm doing this for? _Prove_ to me that you _want_ her back!'

How cold!

He hadn't thought of that. He hadn't suspected that she's been provoking him to fight her, through beating him up. Just like he hadn't considered that her beating him up, is the result of her anger towards him, for refusing to entertain a match with her. Although, now that she's given her plan away, he's beginning to remember how she kept on repeating how Whis feels about him. Maybe, Whis raised her hopes in what to expect from him, and she simply wants to test it. If it's like that, then it's definitely cold of her, to use a vulnerable moment to conduct her experiment.

'I already told you,' a shaking finger points at her. 'I can't afford to lose. I've never asked you for a favour before, but the one time that I really need you, you shove it in my face that I'm weak. _You're shoving my weakness in my face_!' he emotionally screams out the last sentence.

For a second, Vados looks to be assessing him, dragging her eyes all around his face, and then says, 'I think that you've taken quite a beating, and now you're quite delirious. I distastefully feel that you are mistaking me for my brother, Whis. I'm Vados, apprentice, _remember that_. _I_ owe you nothing. And you mean _nothing_ to me. If I feel like making a fool of you, I _will_.'

'You're mean,' he painfully sniffs out.

That statement, she accepts with a small shrug, replying, 'And you're weak,' like they are stating facts about each other, to the other, that carry no weight.

She then begins to walk to him, ever so slowly. Or maybe, it only seems like she's taking slow steps, because he is in _that_ much pain. As she walks, he takes in successive long breaths, also feebly training his body to be ready to weather another attack from her, because that is clearly what she is coming to him, to do.

'Don't,' he begs as she reaches him, hoping to stop her attack. 'Please. I just want her back.'

Upon hearing his plea, Vados stops in her tracks. His mind immediately goes to breathing out some relief when he sees her taking an elegant swerve back from him, only for him to catch a sneer on her face, and realise that she's not going to listen to his plea. Although he sees her produce a sneer on her face, she moves too fast for even him to reconcile with the fact that she's moved to him. By the time that her hand lands on his chest, he swears that it feels like she literally just plucked his heart out of him.

'You're weak,' she snarls at him, her voice a completely different sound from its usual softness. 'You're so weak, that you're threatened by the idea of Whis taking over your role in your wife's life.'

She hits his chest again, and this time, unlike previously when he felt too paralysed to move, he staggers back, silently praying that his knees will drop to the ground, and save him from this pain.

'There's your weakness, apprentice,' she spits at him. 'Have you ever wondered why angels serve, even though we have immeasurable power? Our kind is transcendent of petty titles and duties, that it doesn't bother us to serve and obey. You should be grateful to know that you have a superior being as guardian over your family, and yet, you want all that glory for yourself. My brother is above associating with the likes of you and your wife, weaklings who feel the need to measure their stature in life. But I suppose, you don't have to worry about it anymore, do you? Without your wife, you'll never be threatened by my brother again, will you?'

'Shut up,' he roughly warns, just as roughly cutting his eyes to her.

In return, she only looks at him with amusement, her added laughter making him even more angry, than her, 'The truth hurts, doesn't it?' mock of a question does.

'Shut up,' he warns her again.

As if to consider him, she tilts her head to the side contemplatively. When she does that, it looks to him like she's coming to a realisation about something.

'But, I don't think it hurts enough,' she finally says, 'because if it really hurt, you'd be attempting to fight me back for your wife. Look, at this point,' she bargains with a small shrug, 'I'm willing to give you a win even for just laying a finger on me.'

This Vados! Continue to shove bait in his face, will she!

She thinks _this_ is easy for him? She thinks resisting the urge and impulse to fight her back, even just for a second, is _easy_ for him? Does she really think that the fighter in him doesn't want to make the attempt to make her swallow her razor words? Does she have in her head, that he likes just standing in a bent way over here, weakly watching her, and not doing anything to stop her being so harsh with him?

'Clearly,' she states, her voice returning to normal, 'you don't want your wife back as much as you claim to. You'd be fighting until your last breath, otherwise, not giving her up, by losing.'

'SHUT UP!' he explodes.

The scream is tremendous, conveying much of his mental, emotional and physical pain, more than it is to get her to stop getting words from her heartless brain, out through her mouth. It's right then, after his explosion, that he feels the most intense wave of energy yet, surge through him. Starting from his smallest toe, he feels the powerful current of energy start to flow, spreading all over him, to come to completion on his hair. His pain, he feels it disappear, and in its place, a renewed strength with a hot flame, to tear the universe in half.

Wild tingling and hype rejuvenation attack his body at the same time, while his mind, is overcome by a frighteningly light calmness, and his heart, richly fertilized with a burning need to push Vados back as _far_ as she pushed him. He feels so much power bubbling within him, that if he puts his mind to it, he might just be able to get a shot in and win against her that way.

'Vados...' he quietly says her name.

'My goodness!' she exclaims in transparent gladness. 'I see that you're ready to fight back now, apprentice.'

When Vados starts to ready herself for a fight, taking on the stance of combat, his power reflexively perks up all the more, automatically moving his body to do the same thing that she did. His palms begin to sweat in anticipation, his heart beats a different tune, made of excitement and a prelude to victory, fuelling him to lift himself onto the tips of his feet.

'Oh!' she pleasantly remarks. 'I have high hopes for you, apprentice. Impress me.'

 _Impress me_ , he hears the words a second time.

 _Impress me_ , they sound for a third time.

The third repetition in his mind, sharply snaps the thread of dependency that had been connecting his brain to the future functions of his body.

That's a dare, he realises, a lure into her original trap.

With the realisation, happens the deflation of vigour within him. It's as though suddenly, the live-giving breath to use his power, is taken right out of him, leaving him dead instead. It's not that his energy diminishes or anything in that line, it's that his soul recognises his mistake, which would've come to pass.

'I won't fight you,' he tells her, using every effort he possesses, to close his eyes.

'What?!'

Because he has his eyes closed, he can _only_ think that she sounds surprised, not that she looks it. He understands completely, though, because if he were her, he would feel the same shape of surprise as well.

'I won't fight you,' he quietly repeats to her, pressing his eyelids even tighter together.

Vados takes a moment, not moving (he senses this even though his eyes are closed). He can only wonder and imagine what she is thinking, what her brain is thinking of in this case. Being inside his own head, knowing that he has that great a surge of power, she must be expecting him to do his absolute best. It almost makes him want to laugh until twisted tears fall from his soul, just thinking that, because-

'You know,' the sound of her voice interrupts his thoughts, 'when you first came here, I already knew that I wasn't going to give you what you wanted. However, I _was_ curious to experience for myself, what Whis has said about you.'

Vados really isn't going to bend, he concludes with finality. She's going to break him instead, if he doesn't give her what she wants. Damn it! If only he could fight her! But he can't. He wants to, but he can't. He really can't, because he feels the pressure of being under his own pressure. As he stands, knowing that about Vados, he desperately needs to release the energy of the immense pressure that he feels, but another part of him knows that if he loses himself to get into this fight with Vados, he will lose everything.

Sure, he believes in giving something his best, and not giving up a fight, but he just cannot abandon the knowledge of the consequences that come with giving into the very thing that his body is craving for. His body feels like it would be right for him to retaliate, as he has been pushed into a corner, to get out of, but then his mind understands that it would be wrong of him to sacrifice his word for his body. His battle, is the worst. Vados can't even begin to know it, because between what he wants, what he is capable of, and what he shouldn't want to do, is the difference of self-disgust.

'I thought I could have a little fun out of you, but then you disappointed me,' she continues. 'And really, because of that, I wasn't going to give you what you want. Except, just now, when squeezed your eyes and your body tensed, you reminded me of someone...'

He hears footsteps sound, telling him that she is moving towards him, and while he wants to be ready for her when she reaches him, he doesn't dare to open his eyes. It's important for him to keep being this way, so that he doesn't come apart and lose himself in the moment.

'She is woman from our Earth,' Vados picks up her narration. 'She is the first ever that I felt sympathy for. Do you know why?'

Nothing is all that he gives her for an answer, which must be why she touches his face, and without thinking of why she did that, he opens his eyes.

'Would you like to see?' she asks.

To him, however, it doesn't seem like a question, when she already has her staff between them, before he has his chance to answer. From the black crystal in the middle of her staff, she then refracts a globe of green light a little distance above them, making it so that he has to tilt his head back to see properly. Inside the green ball of light, it starts to show a picture of a man, pushing a woman onto a bed, apparently deaf to her repetitive cries of the word 'no.' At first, Goku is lost, he doesn't know what he is looking at, until the man roughly starts to pull the woman's clothes off her body, leaving her completely naked.

His eyes, more than his heart, intensely burn from the violence in the projection.

If his body wasn't already clenched firm to the spot, he would formed angry fists, ready to smash into the image, and teach that foul man a lesson. Her weak protests make it even worse for him, because they say to him, that she can't defend herself, especially when the man eventually pulls his trousers and underwear down, to impel himself between her legs. What hits him the most, what grabs at the sensitive flesh of his heart worst, is how when he forces himself onto her like that, she just stops struggling. In the place of struggling and protesting, she rather gets a lost look in her eyes, with tears shining inside them, except the tears don't fall.

Goku is vehemently appalled.

Beyond that even, to be watching something like that, but he can't look away. Without the freedom to choose the opposite, he feels transfixed to watch until the very end, where the man evidently feels that he's completed what he needed to do, uses some part of something cloth-like to wipe himself off, and then leaves her there. After pulling his clothes back on, he leaves her all alone, like he was never with her. It's sickening to see that sort of behaviour, more so because after all that, the woman stays in the room, laying completely still on the bed for a while, getting up a little later. One by one, she picks up her clothes, to put them back on, and seeing that, raw humiliation surrounds Goku, for her.

That she has to pick up all of her clothes, which were forcefully taken off her, just so she can put them back on her body again, because she literally has no choice but to, makes him feel disgusted.

About what happened, he's angry, and he wants to break through the green light, to kill that man, but on the other hand, he wants to be able to do so much more for the woman, than just that. But what would restore her? He can't think of anything right way, so he watches with great concern as the woman goes to her cupboard after getting dressed. Just how her hands are shaking as they reach to open her cupboard, he can tell that she is keeping herself together on the outside, while breaking down inside. He knows the feeling. To the last degree of intimacy. He knows what it's like to have an internal depot of feelings that can't be expressed to the outside world.

Out of the cupboard, she comes out with a teddy bear big enough to be Goten in size, the difference being that it's lifeless. Even as she sits down on the floor, setting the bear in front of her, and then she gently strokes the bear's face through a crooked smile, he develops the sinking feeling, that this is the worst part yet.

'I'd go crazy, if I didn't have you to talk to,' the woman tells the teddy, her a dull sound. 'I know I keep telling you the same thing over and over, but... Do you have any idea what it's like to live through something like that? Can you imagine how it's like, to live through something, when your mind is disgusted and afraid, when your mind is refusing, but your body is enjoying it?'

She takes a little break to pull in a sniff, but it still doesn't look like she's going to spill the tears glazing in her eyes.

'Do you have any idea what it does to you, to be betrayed by the responses of your own body, when your mind just wants to die?' she continues to ask her bear, using the same dull sound of voice. 'Can you even begin to understand how _that_ makes you feel as a person, about yourself?'

'That's enough,' Vados sternly announces, suddenly getting rid of the light and display.

With enlarged eyes, he snaps to her. Her abrupt manner shocks him so! How can she not be sensitive to the woman? To him, who was identifying a moment and feelings with that woman?

'As you saw,' she begins to tell him, pretending like she didn't just do something insensitive, 'the analogy here, apprentice, is not as conventional as it should be to your case, but to put it plainly, I see that woman _in you_. I don't know if you were originally going for _that_ effect, but I _can_ sympathise with you now, the way I did with that woman.'

She can sympathise with him? No. Does she even know what sympathy is? He's been begging her all of this time, to just get his wife back to him, because he would lose to her anyway, and now she wants him to believe that she has sympathy for him?

'You don't believe me,' she observes, smiling almost ruefully, which is too unlike her.

How can he? Does she think that showing him something that horrible, will make him forget how she's been refusing to help him? He really doesn't care that she wanted to humiliate him and make him feel weak, he only cares that she wouldn't hear him out. How she wouldn't listen to and understand the fact that he had a purpose in choosing not to fight her.

'Look at you,' she uses her hand to gesture to his figure. 'There you are, glowing with the ability to fight me, even to simply try, but even as I thrashed you around, you _resisted_ the urge in your body to fight me. You fought with all of your soul, to make sure that you didn't give in to the impulse, because giving in to that impulse meant losing everything. It must've cost you the world, to keep your body in check, I imagine. What's interesting is you kept getting up, allowing me to beat you, but your mind stayed strong not to respond.'

Oh.

Her words, trace a deep crack right in the centre of the barrier shielding his inside from showing on the outside, leaving him vulnerable to being exposed. She's right, he thinks, strongly his breath, to not allow even air to pass through the new crack.

She understands. She really understands.

That he made a silent vow to get his wife back, even if it meant losing his life in the process. He'd been dead determined at first, that he'd fight whoever he had to fight to bring her back. But every deity since then, who rejected him, telling him the same thing, ultimately passed on something important to him, when it came down to him facing Vados.

Did he still have the desire to get Chi-Chi back by all means necessary? Yes. Did he still itch to punch Vados' face when she made light of his serious situation? Absolutely. Did he still feel the enticing temptation of using his emotions as a propeller to triumph against Vados? Without a doubt. But!

'I just please want her back, Vados,' he pleads his case one last time. 'That's all I want.'

That's his way of telling that the deities engraved into his understanding that having power, doesn't always mean that it can be used. Yes, he wants to take her up on her challenge, that way gaining a chance at getting Chi-Chi back, but he just can't take that chance. If training with Whis has taught him anything, it's that Whis only starts blocking their attacks, when he gets bored of dodging, and having that in mind, especially how cold Vados is, he'd have to die every day for a million years, before she allows him to touch him even with a strand of hair.

But in the end, he accepts that it won't matter to her anyway. He could get down on his knees, clutch her legs to his chest like she is the last support he has before he sinks, and pour out all of his misery to her, opening himself up to her like he's only ever done with Chi-Chi, but all she would probably hear, is a pleasing melody to her ears, that she could listen to without interruption.

'You're a mess,' she smoothly says in the process of gliding to him.

What does he care about that? Isn't that what she was going for when she started attacking him? He doesn't care about looking a mess, not when he doesn't feel anything related to good.

'Vados,' he croaks, knowing very well that she won't listen to him. 'Please, just ten seconds into the past.'

He made a small passageway to the fantasy that she would look at him, contemplating him, and then retort with condescension, but she only reaches her hand out towards him. When he sees her hand coming to him, he automatically shifts his body back only half a measurement of a step, because he instantly remembers how comfortingly she'd embraced him before, only to tell him that he would never see Chi-Chi again.

No! Just no. He refuses that. Someone kill him already, because he doesn't want to hear that. He can mentally accept it as the case of truth as it is, because clearly Vados won't entertain him, but he doesn't want to _hear_ it.

He can't hear the words of his eternal sentence spoken to him, and by trying to move away from her touch, he's only seeking to avoid one of the two likely outcomes that her touch could bring. But unfortunately, he doesn't manage to escape her touch, as her hand makes contact with him almost immediately, and then the hottest of fiery pains courses through his skull. Most likely, she's going to take him by the head, and then toss him all the way to the other end of the universe.

He doesn't care, he thinks, weakly trying to produce a smile on his face, while one of his eyes struggles to stay open. Even if she throws him away from her presence, before she _actually_ takes the last breath from him, he won't be discouraged from searching through the universe to find her again, and keep pleading with her. But since she's chosen to hurt him, he wonders, should he cry out in pain, or...?

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 **26Chapters**

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The pain stops. At least, the pain of his skull being on fire, but refusing to burn up, stops. He isn't sure if the atmosphere around him is quiet because he stopped crying out from the pain, or if he even remembers crying out or not. He isn't sure if he remembers closing both of his eyes either, and yet, here he is quickly opening his eyes.

The silence, the absence of pain, and no words from Vados, are too unsettling to him, that he has to see for himself, what is going in his surroundings. He needs to know where Vados has taken him, so that if he is not on her planet, he can get back to her as soon as possible. Once his eyes find focus, though, he quickly realises that he is back on Earth.

At the baseball game, to be exact.

His heart stops. Completely and shamelessly.

It would be ironic, if he were to die now, after getting what he's wanted since he left this place in the first place, when he refused to die before when Vados was stomping all sorts of pain from him. It would be ironic indeed, but his heart really does stop beating.

He's back here.

He's really back here. His eyes can see everything and everyone. Only, they are exactly how he left them, and... His eyes search this way and that, but he doesn't find Chi-Chi! She's nowhere to be seen, and that jolts his unbeating heart to thud away inside his chest.

Chi-Chi's not here!

He wants to die...

He actually believed that Vados had brought him back here, back to that time before she and Lord Champa showed up, but she only brought him here, to show him that she would never give him what he wants.

She lied to him!

Not that he believed her when she said that she felt sympathy for him, but she really lied to him! She said that she understood how hard it was for him to resist fighting her, but in the end, she never really meant it, it seems.

His Chi-Chi!

His eyes can't find her, and he just... He doesn't want to continue breathing. He just doesn't want to try anymore. His soul feel so empty, now that his eyes can't find his wife, and he just can't anymore.

Where is his love? Why can't he find her? His empty soul aches. It aches so much... Where is she? Just where is she? It feels like his heart is stopping again.

'Goku...' a soft voice speaks, 'Ten seconds. That's _all_ you have.'

Ten seconds?

Sharply, he turns his head to his left side where the voice came from, and finds Vados looking at him. She looks serious, not at all mocking or baiting, which makes him wonder if he can grab the hope that she is handing out to him?

'Vados?'

' _Ten seconds_ ,' she sternly responds, stretching out her staff in front of her and urging him to follow it with his eyes.

Her staff, as he follows it with his eyes, does this wondrous thing of encasing everyone on the field in one green bubble, but carrying each one individually, back to the positions that they had been in before any destruction takes place. Through a loudly thumping heart, he watches how each person in his circle of friends, is returned (conscious in state) to their previous positions, while they silently marvel at what is happening to them. He sees the wonder on all of their conscious faces, and something about that, makes him slowly turn to Vados. He can't say why, but he just feels the need to look at her.

In spite of his feelings, that's an incredible thing that she's doing. The look on her face is so calm and yet concentrating, but she looks different to him. For someone who has seen Super Shenron, even swallowed by Super Shenron, and then moved on to see an evil clone of himself, watching Vados do something like rearrange the current moment to a moment in a past, all because she sincerely wants to, is the most magnificently magical thing that he has seen.

'Thank you,' his heart speaks through his mouth.

Never mind what she did in the past, how she wouldn't listen to him in the past, and how she may just be doing this for her own agenda, because in this moment, he's more than thankful to her.

'Just keep your eyes on the appearance of your wife, apprentice,' she returns, but there's still no mocking in her voice.

He won't be told twice, he thinks. Already remembering where he'd failed to save her, he quickly moves there, arriving just in time to catch her reappearing there. For a second, he almost stops in proper shock, but his body overrides his mind, immediately pulling her away from that, and damn what follows that. It's not his concern if Lord Beerus' destruction ball hits somewhere, because his goal is safely in his arms.

'Uf! Goku!' Chi-Chi complains in surprise, clutching her arms around his neck.

Hearing her complaint, and feeling that they are safe away enough, he carefully settles her down on her feet. It stings him to pull away from the feel of her actual body, but he needs to make a quick glance over her, to make extra sure that she really is all right, and that no fleck of the destruction energy touched her, to leave her missing an arm, or a strand of hair.

'What's gotten into you?' she wonders with concern, eyeing him carefully.

His answer to her, besides the mammoth of a smile that attacks his face, is to crush her back into him, really just smothering her with his arms. Her surprised question says that she doesn't know what happened, but he does, and he is _never_ letting her go again. He'll keep her in his hold like this for the rest of his life. Or better, if he could sink into her skin, seeping into her veins to be together with the life of her blood, he would do it.

'Goku…'

Chi-Chi tries to push away from him, but he gets a slight bout of panic, so he physically protests by encasing her even tighter, and trapping one of his legs between hers.

'What's wrong, Goku?' she asks him, sounding scared. 'You're scaring me.'

 _Aaw man_ , his heart takes a dive just a little. He doesn't want to scare her, it makes him feel bad that he is create a world of worry and fright for her with his behaviour, but on the other hand, he doesn't want to let her go. His need to keep her pressed to him should be the side that takes the trophy, but in reality, his need can't compare to his heart's promise of love, to always be tender with her. In the end, he slowly pulls away from her, but his hands immediately find her face to frame, because it wouldn't make sense for him to just leave her untouched.

It's Chi-Chi. It's really her. And her arms are still around his neck.

'Chi-Chi,' he heartily breathes, while his eyes admire her face.

' _Why_ are you looking at me like that, Goku?' she breathes back, still sounding concerned.

Like how? He's only appreciating and loving her face, now that he has her back, but he supposes that from her point of view, his relieved and appreciate stare, look randomly intense that it's scaring her. Well, she might just be right if she's thinking his stare is intense. How can it not be, when she's back with him, and he can touch her if he wants to?

'Goku,' she softly calls for his attention, and drops her arms from around him, to her sides, 'tell me what's wrong.'

Again, he doesn't respond to her. He finds that it's much easier to press himself into her, widen his smile, and also graze her bare arm with his knuckles. Thank goodness for the baseball uniform, otherwise he wouldn't have the freedom to slide his knuckles down her upper arm to her wrist. At her wrist, her turns his hand, to use two of his fingers to feel her pulse under her skin. He swears, feeling the quiet drumming of her pulse, he can almost hear her heart beating within his own heart. It's not possible, of course, he knows that, but it feels like he can.

'You shirt is ripped off, and you _clearly_ got into a fight, so what is it?' she urges him to tell her, since he hasn't yet said anything.

No wonder she looks so worried. He didn't know about his shirt being ripped. In fact, he doesn't know anything about his appearance. If he looks blue in some parts and torn at the flesh in some other parts, he doesn't know about it. At the moment, he only knows that his shirt is ripped, and her worry is justified that way. Whenever his uniform started coming off piece of fabric by piece during battle, it always signified the climax, where nothing of power would be held back. To think that even he didn't fight, he still fought to this point of ripping his shirt...

'Please tell me,' she persistently requests again.

'Nothing's wrong, I promise,' he finally replies.

He answers her, solely because he wants to kiss her. Now, he's aware that there are people watching them, and doesn't care if they are, however, _doesn't_ trust himself to kiss her. If he already has trouble letting her go while simply holding her (his leg is still between hers, he adds), how hard will it be to pull away from a kiss with her. But, but, but, aaah! He can't have a mini internal struggle about this. He wants to kiss, and he shouldn't have to hold himself back.

All right, he decides, taking in a short breath of warning to himself, he'll do it. He'll kiss her. On the cheek. He'll kiss her on the cheek, since he can't trust his lips to touch hers. Fully decided to kiss her, he leans in to kiss her cheek, except, his lips never meet her cheek. His lips meet cold air, his arms hold cold air, and his leg remains between cold air on either side of it.

'Chi-Chi?' he calls for her, momentarily stunned, and only able to blink.

At the same time of him calling to find out where his wife disappeared to, a booming voice rich with emotional hysteria calls the same name.

'Chi-Chi!'

Even without looking, Goku knows that is the voice of Ox King, as his hysteria is only typical of him and him alone. Chi-Chi sometimes displays that trait too, but that isn't important right now. He adjusts himself to have a view of Chi-Chi and her father, and he's quite taken aback to find a line of people behind Ox King, more than he is interested to know how in the world Ox King managed to steal Chi-Chi from his arms, and take her (while in his embrace) in a completely different direction in so little time.

'Oh, my dear baby, Chi-Chi! You're alive!'

'Dad,' she replies, 'you too?'

It's not just him, Goku answers in his head. There's a line of people behind Ox King... Og, his heart laments, he won't get her back into his arms again, it seems. There's Goten, there's Gohan and Pan, there's Piccolo, and then...

'Whis?' he whispers.

Whis obviously also came back, dressed in what he had been wearing at the game, but never mind Whis! That line to Chi-Chi is _too_ long. He wants her back in his arms already. Why can't he just have her to himself?

'Grandpa, hurry!' Goten says, jumping up and down. 'I wanna hug my Mommy!'

Where Goku is surprised at Goten even being patient enough to wait for his turn, Chi-Chi hurriedly pulls herself out of her father's embrace, and steps around him, once she hears Goten's voice. Goten then jumps onto her face, childishly winding his legs around her neck.

'Mommy!' he exclaims, his small body wiggling around her head.

'Hi, Goten,' she greets him.

Gohan apparently, Goku sees, is too impatient to wait for Goten to finish his turn, because he uses that clear space around her frontal body, as an opportunity to cling to her. Although he holds onto her with Pan in his other arm, he does it thoroughly. Silently too. He silently holds onto his mother, not speaking any exclamation or welcoming remark.

Seeing that display from his sons, Goku begins to feel selfish for wanting to have her back in his embrace again only. In his hot trail to get Chi-Chi back, and just now when she reappeared, he didn't really consider that other people felt her absence too. He'd been so concerned about himself, not realising that it wasn't just for himself, that he was getting her back. He got her back for an entire family of people. Including Whis.

'Mom,' Gohan bows down low after he eventually lets her go, 'I'm really sorry that I couldn't protect you.'

She won't know what Gohan is talking about, Goku thinks. She has no idea what happened to her, which is why she doesn't say anything, but show Gohan a small smile, and give him one last side hug. Probably because Goten is still partly attached to her head, she gives Gohan a side hug, not a full one. It's not a bad thing either, as it creates space for Piccolo to step up to her, in his turn.

'Do you see what I told you?' Piccolo growls.

His voice and his face show his disturbed state, but Chi-Chi only looks at him quietly. She may understand that Piccolo is not okay with her, but she doesn't understand why, hence her silence.

'Look what happened to you!' Piccolo scolds her. 'Do you see now what I told you about Whis?'

'Piccolo,' she says, 'I'm fine.'

Her answer has Piccolo staring at her, almost like he wants to say something else about that specifically, but she takes hold of his arms before breaking into a soft smile, and Piccolo just relents. Or he relaxes. It's one of the two, whichever is closer to Piccolo calming down significantly from disturbed mode.

'Just don't do that again,' he warns deeply, surreptitiously covering her hand with his own only for a split second, as he probably intended not to be caught doing it.

It's Whis' turn next, but Goku sees that he's not moving to be closer to Chi-Chi. He looks hesitant to approach her, and while Goku would immediately take any chance to have Chi-Chi again, he realises something very important. Whis is sorry that he couldn't protect her, neither could he do anything to bring her back, so he must think that she's going to say something about it. If only he knew that out all of them, she's the only one who doesn't remember anything.

To fix the bridge Whis thinks is broken between him and Chi-Chi, Goku moves over to Chi-Chi and begins pulling her with him, to meet Whis.

Funny enough, he would've never done that before. In fact, he would've been the first person to try and separate the two of them, but his eyes have opened since then. It's disturbing that he had to go through a horrendous situation to finally get over Whis and Chi-Chi, but that's ultimately what it took. When it came down to it, Whis couldn't do anything for Chi-Chi, despite his power, and as petty as that it is, it makes Goku feel better to know.

'Chi-Chi,' he faces her, while his finger points at Whis, 'that's Whis.'

'I know who he is, Goku,' she emits a small laugh.

He knows that, but the way they were standing afar from each other as if they were afraid to approach each other, felt to him like they needed permission to talk and be close to each other. He's to blame for that, he guesses, so it's up to him to correct it.

'Whis,' Goku turns to face him, 'I got her back.'

He's not bragging about it, but he will also not lie and think that there isn't some satisfaction in knowing that although Whis has all these wonderful magical powers, he has his limits too. He's always thought of Whis as the guy who can do anything, when really, Whis has a dependency on someone else, to execute all of that power. There's honestly nothing to be threatened about, in a someone who has a weakness just like the rest of them.

'I'm thankful, Goku,' Whis bows his head, and then looks from him to Chi-Chi, to apologise. 'I'm deeply sorry, Chi-Chi. Will you ever forgive me?'

Rather than giving Whis an answer, Chi-Chi simply opens her arms, silently inviting Whis into them. Robotically, Whis takes the single step between them, but once in there, he only stands and allows her to close her arms around him. With Whis' tall frame and Goten stubbornly clinging to her head and shoulder, it's an amusing picture to look at. He can only imagine if Lord Beerus was seeing- Wait, Lord Beerus, where is he?

'Whis, where's Lord Beerus?'

His impulsive question pulls Whis out of Chi-Chi's hug, leading him to point a long finger towards the sky. Following the finger leading to a place the other way in the low sky, Goku catches three figures with his eyes. One is Vados, he notes, he'd never mistake her white hair. And then there's Lord Champa, whose bulkier body he would never forget other, currently pushing Lord Beerus to the side. As soon as Lord Beerus gains stability for the shove, he goes to shove his brother right back, and so they go back and forth. It's interesting of them to behave that way, but Goku guesses that might just be their own way of showing their love for each other. He better leave them to continue as they are, and rather get back to showing his own love.

'That felt lovely and warm, by the way, Chi-Chi,' Whis remarks about the hug, like he knows nothing of it.

Laughing, she replies with, 'You have so much to learn, Whis.'

While Whis has so much to learn, Goku thinks with a sneaky smile, he's going to attack Chi-Chi with another long embrace, because at least he knows how to appreciate a hug in the moment, not afterwards. But then just like before with the kiss, everyone else who hadn't come close to welcome Chi-Chi back, step forward and his chance is lost.

Og, now he has to wait _again_.

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 **26Chapters**

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'Dad, how did you get Mom back?'

That question, he doesn't want to answer, even coming from Gohan, but it does remind him of something that he completely forgot about. Supreme Kai. He left Supreme Kai at Zeno's. Uh-oh.

'Hey, Whis!' he calls.

Since he stepped away to allow the others space with Chi-Chi, he joined Gohan, Piccolo and Ox King on the side, a little way from the big group. Gohan took the opportunity to ask him how he did, only, it placed Goku on another path. It's just as well that Whis comes over to him, because he can't find Supreme Kai's energy on Earth.

'Yes?' Whis presents himself.

'I can't find Supreme Kai on Earth.'

'He's still with the Grand Priest. He is fine.'

Yet another redirection, Goku sourly thinks, as this redirect from the topic in his thoughts, is towards the Grand Priest, and only bad memories of him come to Goku.

'Your father is not really nice,' Goku tells Whis.

'He is,' Whis opposes him. 'He simply has rules to abide by, and being lenient with one person, potentially means being lenient to every complaint that comes to him. Could you imagine the balance of the world, if he let everyone get what they want, simply because they have that option?'

True. Whis has a point, but still, Grand Priest should've helped him. He hadn't been asking for something bad for the world, or even something useless.

'You're mistaken, Goku, what you are thinking,' Whis says. 'That is why you can never be a god of Destruction, or in any other godly form. I am quite proud of and thankful that you persisted until my sister changed her mind, but it also made me realise that you cannot be a god, as I had hoped.'

Hang on, had Whis began scouting him at some point, probably wishing that he would take over the role of Destruction god, once he reached a certain level? It seems to make sense now, how the whole time Vados kept calling him an apprentice...

'Whis...' he starts to add up what he has so far in information. 'Were you...?'

As if he is daring Goku to finish that question, Whis raises an eyebrow. Goku would've taken the challenge and completed his question, if Whis didn't almost immediately appear to have absently lost interest in the conversation.

'Excuse me, Goku,' he silkily says. 'It appears that Lord Beerus and Lord Champa have finished their welcome, at last. I _must_ go, and welcome my Lord back.'

After that, Whis conveniently excuses himself, disappearing without allowing Goku the opportunity to stop him.

'Dad, you didn't say. How did you get Mom back?' Gohan wants to know, taking the opportunity Whis left behind.

'Yes,' Piccolo supports, 'if Whis disappeared, and he couldn't turn back time, how did you get Chi-Chi back? I mean, even if Whis had been able to, didn't he once say that he can only rewind time by three minutes?'

What? All that? Goku switches his view from Gohan to Piccolo. Does he really have to go from the start to now? The truth is, he doesn't want to repeat all the rejection and that to them, and even if he did, he doesn't know how Vados redid everything. He never got the chance to ask her.

'It was Vados,' he tells them. 'I will have to ask her. She's mean, though. She's not like Whis.'

'Did you fight her?' Piccolo wonders. 'Is that why you look like that?'

He won't answer that, he'll ignore, but yes, in a way, he did fight Vados.

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 **26Chapters**

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Organically, all the separated groups gather together after everyone else leave. His immediate family being the only other group left (Videl offered to take Pan home, while Gohan spends some more time with his mother), they somehow find themselves surrounded by the group of gods.

'Chi-Chi,' Whis speaks with a smile after clearing his throat, 'Lord Beerus has something to say to you.'

Chi-Chi who has since moved stubborn Goten to her hip, steps forwards to hear what Lord Beerus had to say to her.

'Lord Beerus,' she nods.

'Um...' Lord Beerus clears his throat, and then looks at Whis with uncertainty.

Probably for encouragement, Whis nods to him, following that with looking at Chi-Chi, and saying, 'Go on, my Lord.'

Lord Beerus clears his throat again, clearly uncomfortable with what he has to say. His squinting eyes and reluctant expression give away that Whis had something to do with whatever Lord Beerus has to say.

'Um...' he tries again. 'I wanted to... Um... I wanted-to-tell-you-that-I-am...'

'Lord Beerus,' Whis impatiently urges, like he is scolding a naughty child.

'DON'T RUSH ME!' Lord Beerus barks at Whis. 'I'LL SPEAK AT MY OWN PACE!'

Suddenly, without giving a warning that it was going to happen, Whis uses both of his arms to cling to Lord Beerus' arm. As Whis squeals his apparent delight, Goku is reminding of Goten hanging onto Chi-Chi for some reason.

'Oh, Lord Beerus,' Whis happily cries, 'I thought I would never see you again.'

From the way Whis is wiggling Lord Beerus' arm, Goku guesses that hearing Lord Beerus shout at him, reminded Whis of how close he came to not ever seeing the one person that he has had all this time. He can really understand Whis' sentiments.

'Whiiiiis!' Lord Beerus complains deeply. 'Let me go!'

Funny enough, Whis does let go of Lord Beerus, something Goku hadn't been expecting, but the way he corrects his stance after clearing his throat, is just too funny to Goku. He can't believe that Whis would act like that, as though he hadn't just been clinging to Lord Beerus like a little child to their mother, and then fix himself as if no one saw him act that way.

'As you were saying to Chi-Chi?' Whis directs to Lord Beerus.

In turn, Lord Beerus gives him a look, but Whis shrugs, inclining his head towards Chi-Chi, and then prissily closing his eyes to remove himself from the exchange. Lord Beerus then turns back to Chi-Chi.

'Uh...' Lord Beerus turns back to Chi-Chi. 'Whis insists that I need to apologise to you, so... Um... I... Uh... I really-liked-the-food-that-you-gave-Whis-the-other-day. Make sure to _properly_ teach him how to make it.'

Goku is shocked. That is his apology? That, what he said really fast, and had nothing to do with apologising, is his apology? It doesn't even really sound like an apology, it seems more like permission for Chi-Chi to spend time with Whis. Although, whatever it is, thank goodness Chi-Chi seems to find it amusing, otherwise he would've said something to Lord Beerus.

'You remind me of Piccolo, Lord Beerus,' she says to the god, a warm smile on her face.

'I'm right here!' Piccolo quickly rejects that.

That way, he's probably protesting that he _can't_ be remembered while he is here with them. Also, he's mostly protesting, because he doesn't like the comparison to Lord Beerus.

'You also didn't say what you really want to say to me,' she tells Piccolo, 'but at least I understand both of you.'

'It's just as well that you understand, Chi-Chi,' Whis supports her, 'because I doubt that he will say anything about destroying you.'

So wait, Chi-Chi knows about being destroyed?

'That was an accident, Whis!' Lord Beerus defends himself, although, he _does_ seem uncomfortable talking about it, as though it takes him back to a place where he didn't like being.

So really, Chi-Chi knows? She hasn't been acting like someone who knows anything, but he will tuck that away for now. Now that they are on the subject of apologies, he should also make his apology to Lord Beerus for what he did. For what he caused his sons and Piccolo to do with him.

'Lord Beerus...' he starts. 'I'm sorry about...'

In the space where he pauses, Lord Beerus nods and waves his hand away, communicating that he shouldn't bother with that. He appreciates to know that Lord Beerus doesn't hold a grudge against him, as he also holds no hard feelings for Lord Beerus. What happened was an accident, and in the end, he got Chi-Chi back, so there is really no need to hold a grudge.

'Thanks, Lord Beerus,' Goku appreciates, 'but I want to know why Supreme Kai was still alive when you disappeared.'

At the time immediately following the destruction, when the people around him were trying to come up with solutions to getting Chi-Chi, he hadn't once considered that Supreme Kai wouldn't be there when he looked for him. It was only after Vados restored everything, and he had to stand back and allow the others to welcome Chi-Chi back, that he remembered that little bit of information. He'd almost freaked out with thoughts of what he would've done had Supreme Kai disappeared too, but luckily his eyes on his wife, quickly reeled him back from that possibility that never came to be. Except that now, he is curious about it.

'Creation can create destruction, but destruction cannot create,' it's Vados who answers that for him.

He looks at her, remembering that she's been here with them too. 'But Whis said they are a set with Supreme Kai.'

'They are,' she confirms, 'but they are not linked in _that_ way. Only direct harm to a Supreme Kai can affect a god of destruction, who directly falls under creation. Damage to creation doesn't mean the creator takes the same damage. That's the simple explanation of it. Also, it has nothing to do with you, what gods and angels get up to.'

He feels that she didn't really explain it well, but he decides to accept that and move on from it. Starting a new topic specifically for her to answer, is the best way to move away from her 'simple' explanation and her last comment, which just escapes the territory of being snide.

'Okay,' he says. 'So how did you get me back to the moment to save Chi-Chi, and everyone remembers it?'

'Wouldn't you like to know?' Vados slyly asks, giggling afterwards.

'That's why I'm asking, obviously,' he replies through a frown.

'Oh, apprentice,' she smiles, apparently enjoying him as he is. 'Know this; Every event in creation is recorded, no matter how insignificant, and angels have abilities far beyond you can imagine. I could tell you how I did what I did for you, of course, but I _won't_.'

She's really just something else, this Vados. It's only who could follow something so stingy with shy giggling, to make it appear innocent. Really, when Goku thinks about it, Vados has no shame enough to make her be nice. That she said about angels being above everything in essence, to the point where they aren't bothered by trivial things, must expand all the way to her people skills, because she really couldn't be bothered to be polite.

'You're not like Whis at all,' Goku mumbles darkly, talking straight from his thoughts. 'You're mean.'

'I am?' she sarcastically asks, eyeing him carefully too.

'Uh huh.'

He won't lie to her, and evidently, she doesn't find that admission offensive. If she did, wouldn't be stretching out her staff towards him, resulting in him feeling restored just like that. Unsure of what she did to him, he looks down at himself, and finds that his uniform is back in one piece. She must've gotten rid of the bruises too.

'There!' Vados proudly announces. 'You look _much_ better that way. I must say, though...' she pauses to look him in the eyes, and then continues, 'There's something about you. A mystery... About you... That intrigues me...'

Again, she pauses, but this time, her eyes go from the bottom part of him, to the top, making him wonder what she's doing evaluating him like that. Also, what is this mystery about him that she is talking about? He doesn't know anything about that, he's just himself, and that is always how he has been.

'I could never understand what my brother saw in you...' she picks up speaking. 'I always thought you were a nuisance, but it's there... That mystery... It's strangely alluring.'

After finishing, Vados brings her eyes to meet his, but he's just blank. Even when she reaches out to touch him, softly making a show of dusting off one side of his chest, he stays completely blank. She's a strange one. She should make up her mind. All this mocking him and treating him like he's nothing, and then changing to admiring him against her will, is emptying his mind of thoughts. If not for Chi-Chi suddenly swiftly darting her arm forward, to first hold Vados' wrist, and then push Vados' arm back from him, to complete the act with coming to stand directly between him and Vados, he would've continued to stay blank.

'Whis,' Chi-Chi's authoritative voice warns, 'your sister...'

Wow.

Instincts he didn't even know he had, spring to life.

Chi-Chi, wow.

 _That_ , he loves.

So much.

It makes him feel a certain type of way, that Chi-Chi would react like that. Towards someone like Vados, no less... Wow, he feels hot about it. Like really, really, really hot, that his inside is burning . And wow some more, the fact that she didn't even talk to Vados directly... Man, that's so... It's like she's making herself known to Vados, but deliberately ignoring her, to say that she doesn't have time to spare for the angel, and that is something on its own... She's now pulling her hand away from Vados' hand, but Goku just can't stop seeing her acting that way with the angel.

'Vados,' Whis silkily warns his sister in turn, as instructed by Chi-Chi, 'kindly take your intrigued interests to your _own_ universe, please.'

Although Whis did say that his sister annoys him sometimes, the way in which Whis responds to Chi-Chi's request, it settles into Goku's understanding, that Whis is not special at all. Well, yes, he is, he's Whis, of course he's special, but to Chi-Chi, he's apparently just any other person who she can tell what to do. Ha! Here he had thought Whis would be special, but it looks like Whis will be just like the rest of them to her. He won't be escaping her rules, it seems.

Hihihi, he mentally giggles the way Goten would in special cases, he's so glad to know that about Whis. Maybe he should move close Vados again, make her touch him, to get that hot reaction from Chi-Chi, and then watch Whis obey her, to make him feel like this again. He really feels tempted to do it, so he looks around Chi -Chi and Goten to Vados. He catches Vados eyeing Chi-Chi, not really sceptically, but with something along the lines of disbelief and amusement, which explains her smile perfectly.

'Father was right,' Vados decides to face Whis, 'you have way too much fun in your universe. So take care of him, brother. I might just take him from you, if you're not careful.'

Through a distinct face of distaste, Whis asks, 'Shouldn't you get going, Vados?'

What a subtle way to tell his sister that it will never happen, Goku thinks. Whis is generally nicer, but even _he_ has his own ways of telling someone to shut up, or mind their business, politely, yet somewhat savage to the attentive mind. That must be why, without giving Whis an answer, or expression, Vados abruptly turns to her god of Destruction, to announce that it's time for them to go.

'Lord Champa, we're going.'

'Yes, yes, let's,' Lord Champa lazily nods at Vados, and then faces his brother. 'But hey, you, Beerus! Don't think that next time you die, I'm coming back here to greet you.'

'You'll die before me anyway,' Lord Beerus sneers in response as he turns away from his brother.

Goku couldn't have expected more than that from Lords Beerus and Champa, but man, whoever decided that Whis and Vados, as well as Lords Beerus and Champa should be from the same universe, probably made a funny choice. All four of them obviously have a strange way of expressing themselves around each other.

'You wish!' Lord Champa says like he can't accept his brother to have the word. 'Vados, let's go.'

'I already said that. There's no point in you repeating it,' Vados retorts, but she positions herself to leave with Lord Champa anyway.

'Vados...' Whis haltingly calls her before she can leave

'I _know_ , Whis,' she answers his call.

It's like she doesn't want to hear Whis say what he wants to say, so Goku automatically assumes that Whis wants to say something about her returning to this universe. When Whis speaks, however, Goku finds himself taken aback by the unseemly transition from chasing his sister away to this.

'Even so...' Whis insists, 'Thank you.'

As genuine as Whis' expression of gratitude was, a genuine smile spreads on Vados' face, preceding a courteous head bow. It's really nothing overly significant of a response to be awed by, and yet, Goku feels like he is seeing a side of Vados, that's not rudely direct or mocking, but simply angelic. She easily embodies all that is truly angelic in the imagination. It's only too bad that she extends only a small moment of her time, to share one last look with Whis, before disappearing with Lord Champa, because he would've liked to fix that picture into his mind as the image for whenever her name is mentioned.

'By the way, Whis,' Lord Beerus says after a while, 'we should also get going. All of this today, has taken my good spirits away.'

'You weren't in good spirits to begin with, my Lord,' Whis seems to remind him. 'You didn't even want to come to the game, but all right, we shall leave. Everyone...' he directs his eyes to the rest of them. 'We will be seeing you soon. Under happier circumstances, I hope.'

'Yeah,' Goku agrees, not because he wants to see them go, but because he would like what's left of the rest of the day, to be spent with Chi-Chi.

'See you, Whis,' Chi-Chi bids, being the only other person to speak.

Not long after that, Whis and Lord Beerus disappear the way Vados and Lord Champa did, but in their stead, they leave the spirit of leaving behind. Gohan is the first to be possessed by that spirit, suggesting that they should all head back home, seconded by Ox King, who says that they need to have a little celebratory barbeque outside the Son house, and offers to do all of the cooking. Chi-Chi expresses how she likes that for a change, and not asking for the opinion of either him or Piccolo, the four start walking off, verbally gathering ideas for what else to add to the barbeque.

'So...' he absently starts, consciously trying to dull the sudden ache that just awoke in his heart for seeing Chi-Chi walk off.

Seeing her actively walking off, lively chatting away with Gohan and Ox King while bouncing Goten around on her hip with each step, his heart really squeezes together, pressing out of him tears that he never got to cry since the destruction. The shadows of repression that had been covering his heart, acting as some strong guards to help him stay focused and not breakdown, fade off. In fading off, leaving him unguarded, the emotions from before he got her back overflow from his heart, in the form of tears. His heart feels an excellent sense of relief through releasing tears, and at the same time, it feels a heavy type of nostalgia for earlier when he had her body pressed into him, clearly confirming her actual presence to him.

'So...'

He feels a warm hand on his shoulder, before he remembers that Piccolo never left him. It's only Piccolo, and he isn't afraid to be expressing himself like this in front of him, but he still begins to wipe his tears away hastily. He then looks at Piccolo.

'All right?' Piccolo asks, to which he nods.

He's only emotional, he answers in his head. He's allowed that, he believes. After losing a wife, and then getting her back, he is allowed to have his emotional moment. But more than that at the moment, he should be appreciating Piccolo. Piccolo is here with him now, and he had been there when it came to attacking Lord Beerus for destroying Chi-Chi. And speaking of attacking...

'Hey, Piccolo, you can do the Kamehameha too?'

It's his way of lightening the air around him, so he is glad to see Piccolo's eyes widen as though appalled and embarrassed at the same time.

'That...' Piccolo tries to talk his way out of that topic, but he doesn't quite know what else to follow it with.

'Thank you for that,' Goku taps his shoulder, adding a small bounce of a joke into his tap, only to not make Piccolo feel cornered by his own care for Chi-Chi.

'Don't thank me. It's the Kami in me,' he dismissively grunts in response.

He says that, but they both know that is only something that he says to not accept the responsibility for the fact that he actually _does_ care about Chi-Chi. To be honest though, denying it looks much cooler on him, and it just affirms the fact that he does, so Goku doesn't mind it at all.

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 **26Chapters**

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Later than he meant to, he walks to the house, to join everyone. He didn't like to have been away from Chi-Chi for that long, but after Piccolo said that he was going to see if they need any help with the barbeque, Goku reasoned within himself that it would be better if he stayed behind and took care of the tables, chairs, dishes and whatever litter was left behind by the baseball game gathering. No, he didn't like cleaning and packing up all by himself, but his body knew better than his mind, that if he went over to the others, he would be hogging Chi-Chi all to himself. The poor woman already had a silent Goten clinging to her, so his body knew to keep him busy away from the house where the others were.

He's approaching the house, and the rest of them later than he meant to, that's true, but now that he's getting closer to where they are, seeing their happy faces, he's glad to have allowed them that time with Chi-Chi alone. He will get his chance to have her all alone, so it's only fair that he made the time available for the others to welcome her back without him. Gohan and Ox King both needed that time especially, because they don't live with her, and while it's still light enough outside before it's completely night-time, at the end of the meal, they will all have to go home without her. Who knows if they will suffer little panic attacks here and there, if they don't have her in their sights... No, what he did was right.

Even now that he's going to join them outside, he'll tame himself enough to allow them all the time that they want with her. He will keep to himself, only entering the conversations here and there, but never fully dominating them. He's thinking of that being the plan, as his feet carry him to the other, but she suddenly turns away from whatever she's preparing with a large spoon in a bowl, his feet stop on their own.

Silently, they have a moment where their eyes make full contact, and a world of words is exchanged between them. She's still at least fifteen steps away from him, but she knows, just like he knows, that they need to be close to each other, only, his feet all of a sudden feel heavy when he tries to lift them. Fortunately for him, Chi-Chi follows their moment and leaves her bowl behind to start moving to him.

Thank goodness, he internally sighs.

He needs her with him. It's not a matter of hogging anymore, it's just a matter of urgency to have an organic moment with his wife, which isn't one-sided. She, just like him, knows how it is, that is why she is making her way to him as he stands. But it's wrong, his mind tells his body. He can't be standing here, waiting for her to reach him, as though she needs to be near him, more than he needs it. He has to meet her in the middle, so his feet need to get over their own weight. Not only that, but watching her walking to him, makes him feel a vibrant colour of excited, and at the same time, a dull depth of torture, because his eyes only translate to him, the distance that isn't disappearing between them.

No, he has to meet her in the middle now.

Thinking that, he forces himself to start moving in great steps to her. Each step, he counts, so that his foot doesn't remain pressed longer than half a second to the ground, and he can make it to her in time. When they finally meet, leaving only a breath between them, they each take a long minute to look at each other. He lovely looks down at her, and she peacefully looks up at him, causing warm lights to ignite within him.

He loves her. _He just does_.

'Hi,' he softly lets out.

During the previous silent minute, he wondered if he should say hallo to her, because it seemed like he should. It felt like he should give her that hallo given after a long day, that one that welcomed and expressed feelings of longing when they weren't together. His feelings clearly won over that debate, because he just greeted her. In response, she brings a formed fist between them, slightly grazing his cheek with it, apparently greeting him back that way. He again begins to wonder of he should say something else to her, or just back in the moment with her looking back at him, but then she walks around him, and he is momentarily left confused about what to do next. His confusion lasts no longer than a blink, because her delicate arms reach around him from the back, pulling him back into a hug against her chest.

It's what that hug makes him feel, that's everything.

Instantly, he feels his expression change, one, for feeling her hands around him, and two, realising the love from her, that is in the arms around him. Wholeheartedly, he leans into her embrace, because he's got a second chance to love her again, and this time, he's going to do it like it's the first time ever, staring with this embrace. He will love her, he swears, like he was never in love with her before, and he's only now beginning to experience it. He will induce butterflies in his own stomach, and he will make his muscles weak to move whenever his eyes see her, and then when it comes to the real choice of love that he makes every single day, to stay with her, even when they don't get along, he'll strengthen that.

'I didn't feel anything,' she says to him in a whisper. 'You know, when I disappeared.'

Not that he wants to stop her, but they are going to talk about that now? From how she hasn't said anything since she returned, he has been under the impression that she had no interest in discussing it. She didn't particularly seem eager to talk about it when everyone was welcoming her back, if anything, she seemed like she didn't want to make a deal about it at all. But knowing that she didn't suffer as she disappeared, is good to know.

' _I did_ ,' he tells her, feeling drained just remembering that. 'All of us did. Even Lord Beerus.'

'But you forgive him, right?'

'Do you not want me to?' he quickly asks.

He won't lie, it wouldn't be ideal, but if she wants him to hang onto what Lord Beerus accidentally did against him for a while, he _can_ overlook his current forgiveness. It wouldn't be easy to overlook his forgiveness either, but for Chi-Chi, he'd fight that forgiving part of himself, to retract his forgiveness.

'No, it's not that,' she lets out a short, pressing her head into his back, and he swears he hears her next words from his own heart. 'I just want to be with you today.'

Aah, that feels so good to hear, because it's like she's telling him that she's been all over the universe, doing all sorts of things today, that all she wants to do now, is be with him. No talk about what happened, or what didn't, she _only_ wants to be with him. Oh, he melts within, she shouldn't worry about that. He plans on thoroughly making love to her body, and soul for whatever is left of the night when the others have left, and Goten is fast asleep. He wants to forget himself around her, on top of her, deep within her, and everything else about her, and afterwards, he wants to talk about nothing important with her, until the next night comes.

'I want that too,' he says, gently rotating in his arms so that he is facing her by the end of his confession.

Being face to face with her, his one arm automatically goes around her, while the other arms shifts to allow his hand to tuck in through her hair at the base of her head, and his face leans down to hers, to press a lingering kiss on her cheek.

This woman...

She went through cold winters alone. She slept in their big bed alone through those nights. She tucked their sons into bed alone. Without him by her side, supporting her. She taught their sons alone, and she waited for him _alone_. But never once, did she give him the ultimatum that he had to choose between his fighting life, and her. She never did. She complaint here and there, yes, she half-heartedly made threats here and there too, but she _never_ made him feel like she wouldn't be there once he came back, and she is the one who he came close to losing for all eternity today.

'Chi-Chi,' he inhales her name just because he can.

She asked him for one thing, a friend, but his ego got in the way. His fear got in the way, because Whis made him see exactly what he put Chi-Chi through, but still, she stayed with him. He could've been with another woman (he's disgusted to think of any other possibility), but he doubts that she would've been as Chi-Chi is to him. Maybe any other woman would've been three hundred percent supportive of his fighting, and left with him whenever he decided to leave, but then what? What would there be to miss, if his wife was there with him at all times?

Gosh, there's been such a development in him. From a child, to an adult, to a married man, to a father, to a grandfather, through all of that, this woman stuck by him, and he just has to let her know now how he feels. He understands that the more serious stuff, can wait until some other morning, that he can tell her all about his feelings and trials another morning, because tonight, he's just going to appreciate her being back, but he does need her to know one serious thing tonight. That serious thing, he can't say with his lips on her cheek, so he draws back from her, bringing the hand tucked into her hair, to come and cover the lower part of her forehead and part of her cheek.

'I'm never living without you, Chi-Chi,' he declares.

'At some point, you will have to,' she says, probably thinking of how she will age while he remains looking young.

'I don't want to.'

'You don't have to want it,' she soothes. 'It will happen, but you being here now, is important. That's what matters.'

He wants to argue with her, he's itching to in fact, but that's enough for now. That type of conversation will only lead him to a place where they both don't want to be, so he will let it go. Like she said, she only want to be with him today, nothing else should be important between them.

'We'll talk about that later,' he tries to divert, because he briefly thought of gathering the Super Dragon Balls to wish for her immortality.

'Okay,' she shows him a small smile. 'But Goku, you'll tell me everything, right?'

'Mh-hm.'

'Everything, everything?' she prods. 'Even about Vados?'

Huh? Vados? What?

Sure, he'll tell her about Vados. The whole story of how she came back, revolves around his interaction with Vados, and how she came to feel sorry for him, that way giving in to what she originally thought she wouldn't do, so it will be kind of hard not to talk about Vados.

'Yeah,' he nods, 'I'll tell you.'

'Okay,' she replies, her smile widening like she is satisfied. 'You'll stay away from her too?'

Hm? And that? What was that casually random question?

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This Is It, **The End.**


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